Culture of Croatia - Croatian Art

Croatian Art

In the 7th century the Croats, along with other Slavs and Avars, came from Northern Europe to the region where they live today. The Croatians were open to Roman art and culture, and most of all to Christianity. The first churches were built as royal sanctuaries, and the influences of Roman art were the strongest in Dalmatia where urbanization was most dense, and there were the largest number of monuments. Gradually that influence was neglected and certain simplifications, alteration of inherited forms and even creation of original buildings appeared. The largest and most complicated central-based church from the 9th century is the church of St Donatus in Zadar. From those times, for size and beauty we can only compare it with the chapel of Charlemagne in Aachen. The altar enclosure and windows of those churches were highly decorated with a transparent shallow string-like ornament that is called Croatian pleter (meaning to weave) because the strings were threaded and rethreaded through themselves. Sometimes the engravings in early Croatian script-–Glagolitic appear. Soon, the Glagolitic writings were replaced with Latin ones on altar boundaries and architraves of old-Croatian churches.

By joining the Hungarian state in the 12th century, Croatia lost its independence, but it did not lose its ties with the south and the west, and instead this ensured the beginning of a new era of Central European cultural influence. Early Romanesque art appeared in Croatia at the beginning of the 11th century with the strong development of monasteries and reform of the church. In that period, many valuable monuments and artifacts along the Croatian coast were made, such as the Cathedral of St. Anastasia, Zadar (natively, St. Stošija) in Zadar (13th century). In Croatian Romanesque sculpture, we have a transformation from decorative interlace relief (Croatian pleter) to figurative relief. The best examples of Romanesque sculpture are: the wooden doors of Split cathedral made by Andrija Buvina (c. 1220) and the Stone portal of Trogir cathedral by the artisan Radovan (c. 1240). Early frescoes are numerous and best preserved in Istria. In them we can see the mixing of influences of Eastern and Western Europe. The oldest miniatures are from the 13th century, in Gospel books from Split and Trogir.

The Gothic art of the 14th century was supported by city councils, preaching orders (like the Franciscans), and knightly culture. It was the golden age of free Dalmatian cities that were trading with the Croatian feudal nobility in the continent. The largest urban project of those times was building of two completely new towns, Small and Large Ston, and about seven kilometres of wall with guard towers (14th century). The Tatars destroyed the Romanesque cathedral in Zagreb during their invasion in 1240, but right after their departure Zagreb got the title of a free city from the Hungarian king Béla IV. Soon after bishop Timotej began to rebuild the cathedral in new Gothic style.

Zadar was an independent Venetian city. The most beautiful examples of Gothic humanism in Zadar are reliefs in gilded metal as in Arc of St. Simon by artisans from Milan in 1380. Gothic painting is less well-preserved, and the finest works are in Istria such as the fresco-cycle of Vincent from Kastv in the Church of Holy Mary in Škriljinah near Beram, from 1474. From that time are two of the best and most decorated illuminated liturgical books made by monks from Split, Hvals’ Zbornik (today in Zagreb) and the Missal of the Bosnian Duke Hrvoje Vukčić Hrvatinić (now in Istanbul).

In the 15th century, Croatia was divided between three states: northern Croatia was a part of Austrian Empire, Dalmatia was under the rule of the Venetian Republic (with the exception of Dubrovnik), and Slavonia was under Ottoman occupation. Dalmatia was on the periphery of several influences so religious and public architecture clearly influenced by the Italian renaissance flourished. Three works from of that period are of European importance, and would contribute to the further development of Renaissance architecture: the Cathedral of St. James in Šibenik, in 1441 by Giorgio da Sebenico; the Chapel of Blessed John from Trogir in 1468 by Niccolò Fiorentino; and Sorkočević's villa in Lapad near Dubrovnik in 1521.

In northwestern Croatia, the beginning of the wars with the Ottoman Empire caused many problems but in the long term it both reinforced the northern influence (by having the Austrians as the rulers). The Ottoman advance was known for its violence. With permanent danger from the Ottomans to the east, there was a modest influence of the Renaissance, while fortifications thrived, like the fortified city of Karlovac (1579) and the fort of the Ratkay family in Veliki Tabor (16th century). Some of the famous Croatian Renaissance artists lived and worked in other countries, like the brothers Francesco and Luciano Laurana, miniaturist Giulio Clovio and famous mannerist painter Andrea Schiavone (teacher of El Greco).

In the 17th and 18th centuries, Croatia was reunited with the parts of country that were occupied by the Venetian Republic and Ottoman Empire. The unity contributed to the sudden flourishing of art of every kind. Large fortifications with radial plans, ditches and numerous towers were built because of the constant Ottoman threat. The two largest ones were Osijek and Slavonski Brod. Later they became large cities. Urban planning in the Baroque style is found in numerous new towns like Karlovac, Bjelovar, Koprivnica, and Rovitica. The cities of Dalmatia also had Baroque towers and bastions incorporated into their old walls, like the ones in Pula, Šibenik or Hvar. However the largest Baroque undertaking was in Dubrovnik in the 17th century after a catastrophic earthquake in 1667 when almost the entire city was destroyed. Wall painting flourished in all parts of Croatia, from the illusionist frescoes in the Church of Holy Mary in Samobor, St, Catherine in Zagreb to the Jesuit church in Dubrovnik. An exchange of artists between Croatia and other parts of Europe happened. The most famous Croatian painter was Federiko Benković who worked almost his entire life in Italy, while an Italian, Francesco Robba, did the best Baroque sculptures in Croatia.

In Austrian countries at the beginning of the 19th century the Romantic movement in Croatia was sentimental, gentle and subtle. At the end of the 19th century, architect Herman Bolle undertook one of the largest projects of European historicism, a half-kilometer long neo-Renaissance arcade with twenty domes in the Mirogoj Cemetery in Zagreb. At the same time, the cities in Croatia were given an important urban makeover. Pseudo building that emphasizes all three visual arts is the former building of Ministry of Prayer and Education (so called "Golden Hall") in Zagreb (H. Bolle, 1895). Vlaho Bukovac brought the spirit of impressionism from Paris, and he strongly influenced the young artists (including the authors of "Golden Hall"). On the Millennium Exhibition in Budapest they were able to set aside all other artistic options in Austro-Hungary.

The turbulent 20th century re-oriented Croatia politically on many occasions and affected it in many other ways, but it could not significantly alter its already peculiar position at the crossroads of many different cultures.