Two Carved Triptychs from the Island of Cres

Autorica analizira dvije, do sada neobjavljene, grupe reljefnih figura s otoka Cresa: reljefe Bogorodice s Djetetom, svetoga Kristofora i svetoga Sebastijana iz Beloga, te reljefe Bogorodice s Djetetom, svetoga Fabijana i svetoga Sebastijana iz Cresa te utvrđuje njihovu pripadnost reljefnim triptisima. Na temelju analiza komparativnog materijala u slikarstvu i skulpturi, te rezultata istraživanja i restauracije, pripisuje ih venecijanskim radionicama 15. stoljeća. Triptih iz Belog datira se u drugu polovicu 15. stoljeća, kao primjer upotrebe predložaka slikarske radionice obitelji Vivarini, a triptih iz Cresa datira se u prvu polovicu 15. stoljeća, kao primjer preuzimanja elemenata iz tradicije trecenta i recepcije nove renesansne estetike.As opposed to Dalmatia where only a handful of carved wooden polyptychs have survived, the area of Istria and Kvarner is so rich in wood carvings that one may assume that this type of altarpiece played the same role as the painted polyptych did in Dalmatia. A large number of Venetian Late Gothic and Renaissance wooden reliefs and statues in the Northern Adriatic indicates the common practice of importing works from Venice. Two so far unpublished works of art belong to that group. A stylistic analysis of the Virgin with the Child and St. Christopher and St. Sebastian from Beli points to a Venetian-Muranese painting workshop of the Vivarinis. This is reflected in hard minute folds, flat chests, triangular folds between the Virgin\u27s knees, all hallmarks of the art of Bartolomeo Vivarini. Gentle, oval faces with emphasized eyelids and highly raised eyebrows, headgear closely adhering to the head and the neck, folds of the skin on the neck, and the turn of the heads are also frequent elements in the paintings of the Virgin by Bartolomeo Vivarini. The Child in the Virgin\u27s lap, chubby, with a rounded belly, and slanted legs is comparable to that in the painting of the Virgin and the Child by Bartolomeo Vivarini in the John G. Johnson Art Collection in Philadelphia. The relief of the Virgin and the Child with SS. Fabian and Sebastian in Cres reveals a clear link with the tradition of the Venetian Trecento. There is an emphasis on elegance —gentle faces, pointed chins, strong cheekbones. The refined appearance of the Virgin and St. Fabian is due to hard decorative folds with soft cascading edges, and by markedly long, thin fingers. Some of the elements of the Virgin, e.g., elongated, domelike head, triangular folds forming triangular clusters at the feet of the figure, can be compared to the central relief figure of St. John from the Omišalj polyptych by Jacobello del Fiore. In addition to that Trecento tradition, the Renaissance elements also make their appearance — in the formation of the chubby child, over which the Virgin joins hands in prayer. The type of the Virgin in prayer over a child in her lap is very frequent in the art of the Vivarinis, of Bartolomeo in particular, and so also in the sculpture of the second half of the 15 century. However, the motif could be found in the Venetian painting of the first half of the century, too. Therefore we see the Cres polyptych as a work of the first half of the 15 century, Gothic in spirit, but with strong indications of reception of the Renaissance elements. The central motif of the Virgin in the act of adoration could be seen as one of the first examples of a praying Virgin preserved in our countr