Giovanni Dalmata (; c. 1440 – c. 1514), born Ioannes Stephani Duknovich de Tragurio, also known as Giovanni Duknovich di Traù in Italy and Ivan Stjepanov Duknović in Croatia, was a

sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

from

Trogir Trogir () is a historic town and harbour on the Adriatic coast in Split-Dalmatia County, Croatia, with a population of 10,107 (2021) and a total municipal population of 12,393 (2021). The historic part of the city is situated on a small island ...

Dalmatia Dalmatia (; ; ) is a historical region located in modern-day Croatia and Montenegro, on the eastern shore of the Adriatic Sea. Through time it formed part of several historical states, most notably the Roman Empire, the Kingdom of Croatia (925 ...

, who was mainly active in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

and his native country during the European

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

. Dalmata was, with

Mino da Fiesole Mino da Fiesole (c. 1429 – July 11, 1484), also known as Mino di Giovanni, was an Italian Renaissance sculptor from Poppi, Tuscany. He is noted for his portrait busts. Career Mino's work was influenced by his master Desiderio da Settignano and ...

and Andrea Bregno, one of the leading sculptors in Rome in the second half of the 15th century.

Biography

He was born in Vinišće, a Dalmatian village (now a part of

Marina A marina (from Spanish , Portuguese and Italian : "related to the sea") is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats. A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships or cargo ...

) in

Venetian Dalmatia Venetian Dalmatia () refers to the territories of Dalmatia under the rule of the Republic of Venice, mainly from the 15th to the 18th centuries. Dalmatia was first sold to Venice in 1409 but Venetian Dalmatia was not fully consolidated until 1420, ...

around 1440. His father was Stjepan Duknović, a stonemason in Trogir. He came to Rome between 1460 and 1465 to work for

Pope Paul II Pope Paul II (; ; 23 February 1417 – 26 July 1471), born Pietro Barbo, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 30 August 1464 to his death in 1471. When his maternal uncle became Pope Eugene IV, Barbo switched fr ...

on the Palazzo di Venezia. Other works in and around Rome include the ''Tempietto'' of S. Giacomo in Vicovaro (near Tivoli), the tomb monuments of Pope Paul II in St. Peter's (now dismantled), the tomb of Cardinal Bartolomeo della Rovere in

San Clemente San Clemente (; Spanish for " St. Clement" ) is a coastal city in southern Orange County, California, United States. It was named in 1925 after the Spanish colonial island (which was named after a Pope from the first century). Located in the O ...

, the tomb of Cardinal Bernardo Eroli (now in the Grotte Vaticane). Around 1488–1490, Giovanni went to the Court of King

Matthias Corvinus Matthias Corvinus (; ; ; ; ; ) was King of Hungary and King of Croatia, Croatia from 1458 to 1490, as Matthias I. He is often given the epithet "the Just". After conducting several military campaigns, he was elected King of Bohemia in 1469 and ...

Buda Buda (, ) is the part of Budapest, the capital city of Hungary, that lies on the western bank of the Danube. Historically, “Buda” referred only to the royal walled city on Castle Hill (), which was constructed by Béla IV between 1247 and ...

, where he stayed for a few years, mastering a number of works which were unfortunately all either destroyed or badly damaged (e.g. the Fountain of Hercules in Visegrád). After his stay in Hungary, Giovanni Dalmata returned to Trogir (Traù in Italian) where he left a number of works, most important among those is the

statue A statue is a free-standing sculpture in which the realistic, full-length figures of persons or animals are carved or Casting (metalworking), cast in a durable material such as wood, metal or stone. Typical statues are life-sized or close to ...

of St. John the Evangelist in the Orsini Chapel in

Trogir Cathedral The Cathedral of St. Lawrence (, ) is a Roman Catholic triple-naved basilica constructed in Romanesque- Gothic in Trogir, Croatia. Since its construction lasted several centuries, it illustrates all the styles that succeeded one another in Dalmat ...

. He is also the creator of the sculpture of St. Magdalene in the Franciscan monastery of St. Anthony on the nearby

Čiovo Čiovo (pronounced ) is an island located off the Adriatic coast in Croatia with an area of (length , width up to ), population of 5,908 inhabitants (2011). Its highest peak is the 218 m Rudine. The centre of the island has geographical coord ...

island and worked with Nicolò Fiorentino and Andrea Alessi on the Renaissance Cippico Palace in Trogir. Around 1503, he was in Rome again, working on the

tomb A tomb ( ''tumbos'') or sepulchre () is a repository for the remains of the dead. It is generally any structurally enclosed interment space or burial chamber, of varying sizes. Placing a corpse into a tomb can be called '' immurement'', alth ...

of the papal protonotary Lomellino. In 1509 he executed the tomb of the Beato Giannelli for S. Ciriaco in

Ancona Ancona (, also ; ) is a city and a seaport in the Marche region of central Italy, with a population of around 101,997 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona, homonymous province and of the region. The city is located northeast of Ro ...

. Some documents of 1513 and 1514 refer to one "Magistro Joanni lapicida" in Trogir where he presumably died soon afterwards. A newly discovered work (''The Virgin and Child'', a marble relief) was offered on auction in London'
Katz gallery
and bought for £250,000 by Trogir City Museum. The authenticity of this work remains doubtful.

Sources

* Johannes Röll, ''Giovanni Dalmata'', 1994. * The Dictionary of Art
www.groveart.com
entry by Kruno Prijatelj

External links

Page at Arcipelago Adriatico website

Biography (''in Croatian'')
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dalmata, Giovanni 1440s births 1514 deaths People from Marina, Croatia Croatian sculptors Republic of Venice sculptors 15th-century Italian sculptors Italian male sculptors 16th-century Italian sculptors Dalmatian Italians History of Trogir 15th-century Croatian sculptors