Nikola Firentinac
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Niccolò Fiorentino (Nikola Firentinac) was an Italian Renaissance sculptor and master architect. He was of Tuscan birth, but lived most of his life and conducted much of his work in Dalmatia. He is best known by his work on the Cathedral of St.Jacob in Šibenik, in 1455. After the death of Juraj Dalmatinac, Nikola finished the cathedral and its original stone dome following the original plans of Juraj.
Work on Šibenik cathedral inspired Nikola for his work on the expansion of chapel of Blessed John from Trogir in 1468. Just like the Šibenik cathedral, it was composed of large stone blocks with extreme precision. In cooperation with a disciple of Juraj, Andrija Aleši, Nicola achieved close harmony of architecture and sculpture according to antique ideals. From inside, there is no flat wall. In the middle of chapel, on the altar, lays the sarcophagus of blessed John of Trogir. Surrounding are reliefs of genies carrying torches as if peering out of the doors of the Underworld. Above them there are niches with sculptures of Christ and apostles, amongst them are putti, circular windows encircled with fruit garland, and a relief of Nativity. All is ceiled with coffered ceiling with image of God in the middle and 96 portrait heads of angels. With so many faces of smiling children the chapel looks very cheerful, unlike other European art of that time.
Recent years, a theory about Croatian origins of Nikola Firentinac has emerged [1]
[edit] References
- ^ (Croatian) Slobodna Dalmacija Priznajmo Firentincu autorstvo nad šibenskom katedralom, Oct 16, 2002.
