A PAINTING RY BALDASSARE D'ANNA IN OPRTALJ AND ITS FAMOUS MODELS by Nina Kudis, Keka The works by Ualdassare d'Anna Located in Istria have attracted far less attention from art historians than Lhose in Dalmatia,1 Ai present we know of two certain works by d'Anna, both of them signed, located in the Croatian part of the peninsula of Istria - a painting behind the main allai of the parish church in Hutti representing the Virgin in Glory and Two Saints and a painting 011 the main altar of the parish church in Oprtalj representing Saint George and the Dragon. New attributions are therefore to be expected.- The rather interesting composition of Ihe latter work, especially when compared to other paintings by the same author, prompted me to discuss it briefly in a recent paper. 1 identified its model as the famous painting of the same subject by Tintoretto, now in the National Gallery in London.' Still. some new observations have made it necessary to return to this topic once again. f G. Gamulin, Pabirci za maniriste, Peris til, 20, Zagreb 197&, pp, 63-65; G. Gamulin, Prijcdlo?.! za slikarstvo renesanse i manirizma u Veneciji, Radovi instituta za povijest umjetnosti, 10, Zagreb 1986, p. 76, A. Hurial-R. Matej£ii-K. Pnjalelj,liaroku llrvatskoj, Zagreb I9fl2, pp. 547-8: about d'Anna's painting in Izola (Slovenia) cf. Tomai, Brejc, Slikarstvo od IS. do ¡9. stoletja na Slovensg obaii, Koper 1983, pp. 55-6, 124, 219. About the works by the same painter in Dalmatiacf. K. Prijaielj, Slike Baldassare D'Anna u Dalmaciji, Studije o umjetninama u Dalmaciji, Ill, Zagreb 1975 and die jame article published in Arte Veneta, XXI, 1967 under the title Letiperedi Baldassare d'Anna in Dalmazia; cf. also an article by Z Demori-StaniSifc Jo5jednu djelo Bald ass area d'Anna u Dalmaciji, Prilozipovijesti umjetnosti, 21, Split 1980 and the notes, ; In the article Dva prlloga sllkarstvu prve polovice XVII. stoljeia u Istri (Two Contributions to ilic Early 17th Cenlury Fainting in 1 stria J, Prilozi povijesti umjetnosti u Dalmaciji. 32. Split 1993 (the issue is a tribute to professor Kruno PrijateljKKudiS), 1 discussed a possible work by d'Anna situated in the former parish church in Mutvoran. on lilt j I tar of St. Simon. However, the deplorable state of the painting prevents any definite conclusion. Only recently 1 discovered another almost certain d'Anna in the parish churcli in Ro£ (only a few kilometres from Hum). It represents Madonna of the Rosar)< and is siluated to the righl of ihe main altar. 1 Kudii:"The way d* Anna transposed Tintoretto's composition on the painting in Oprtalj is very interesting - it was done in conformity wuh ihe demand of conceptual clarity. Regardless whether the transformation took plate on ihe prim that served as the model, in the process of painting or through a combination of two prints, il only consists in the change of place and orient at ion of .St George an horseback and the Dragon... It is almost 119 The subject of Si George and the dragon, frequent in the Italian art of the 15th and 16th centuries, retained a conventional form front Donatello's relief on the facade of the church Or San Michele in Florence onwards. It was defined by the figures of the riding saint, the princess and the dragon with variable spatial interaction, represented in landscape. In most cases they are simply arranged in a line that runs from left to right, even though Paolo Ucello made an early attempt to articulate the story spatially by showing St George on horseback with bold foreshortening (in the National Gallery, London). Ucello's lesson was charmingly interpreted by Giovanni Bellini in a predelia of Lhe Incoronation of the Virgin (Musert Civic«, Pesaro),4 The Venetian tradition of painting is familiar with the motif of St George and the Dragon, as well as representations of a saint on horseback (Giambono's beautiful St Chrisogono in the church of S, Trovaso), but the interpretation by Carpaccio in the Scuola di San Giorgio degli Schiavoni (daied by inscription in 1507) is the most famous pre-Tintoresque treatment of the theme (pi. 57). It is, in fact, the first of the three episodes of the isioria eroica of St George narrated according to Ltgenda Aurea. The scene of the battle lakes place in the foreground and we see the combatants in profile. In the background there is Silena (or Selene). impossible to imagine a more Elucidating Maniple than the one at hand that would corroborate the hypothesis about the conceptual nature of pictorial representation, present even in the case of renaissance or baroque painting, in tils painting Tintoretto considered ihe relative conceptual clarity to be redundant because the story was very well known to everybody, so he looked for a new, unexpected view that might resemble the image of lhe real world i n a more accurate way. The author of the print or Baldassare d' Anna arc inclined towards conceptual clarity in the same way as were the mediaeval masteis, damaging thus the perspective congruency and proportions, that is, the realistic representation of space. The means are different, but with minor artists the understanding of the basic processes at work in the visual representation remained very similar to the one that dominated mediaeval an." J For the evolution of the motif in Central Italy and its typology there are two paintings of considerable importance, both of them in the National Gallery of Art in Washington, one by Raphael and the other by Sodoma. Here we may observe two hasic variations on the populat suhjeel. Si George by Raphael rides a horse that is rearing on ils hind legs, its; body slanted diagonally in the represented space, thus enhancing the illusion of threedimensionallty anddeplh, its hack (as well as the rider's) luriied lo lhe observer who witnesses the battle taking place in the middle distance, from behind the saint's hack. The unobtrusive ligure of the praying princess is situated in the background. Si George by Sodoma rides a horse that is almost parallel to the horizontal border of ihe painting. It is oriented lo the right, allowing the observer lo admire the great knightly skill of the saint seen in full face. Accordingly, the rider occupies the middle distance while the dragon and the princess stand in lhe foreground. Cf. Catalogue of the Italicm Paintings, National Gallery of An, Washington 1979, Vol 1, pp. 391-2,433. The painting by Raphael (2W-5 x 21 -5 enO signed and daied between 1504 and 15tl(>. The author of ihe catalogue stales that Leonardo's Battle at Anghiart served as ilie model tor this painting According to the same author a rather unusual compositional aspeel is present in Ihe work by Sodoma (137,8- x 97.6 cm) - an angel in lhe sky, a motif shared only with lhe famous painting by Tintoretto. It is important io stress, though, ihat in the latter painting (here is the image of God instead. According lo Vcnturi, the painting with the same subject by Dosso Dossi repeals the composition by Raphael in i more vigorous way.Cf. A. Ventun. Ui pittura del i tnquecento, Milano 1928, Vol. IIU Vcnturi}, p, *J44. 120 represented not as any Near-Eastern town but composed of several characteristic buildings, some of which are very accurate interpretations of the existing monuments: the church of S. Ciriaco in Ancona. the gates of Bab ei-Futuh in Cairo, the Holy Sepulchre* It has also been suggested that the author used the heraldic iconography here because of the importance of the representation: the motif of St George and the Dragon was the emblem of the Dalmatian community as well as the Scuola.* Using just a few moves of crucial importance, Tintoretto in his maslerpiccc of around 1560? transformed the common disposition of the scene {present also in the painting by Carpaccio) in order to achieve a brilliant and startling spatial solution charged with emotion (pi. 5H). Now the saint and the dragon occupy the middle distance leaving the foreground to the gracious fleeing princess whose gesture also interprets the emotional significance of the scene,® Here we can trace the traditional renaissance conception translated into the mannerist vocabulary. Surprisingly enough, there seems to exist an analogy heiween ihis painting and a painting by Sodonia with the same subject: the unique case of the presence of an angel (in the older painting), that is, God the Father (in the more reccnL painting), who observes the scene from on high, and the compositional role of the landscape and the representation of a fortified town that repeats and underlines the direction of the action," Obviously, Tmtoieito's beautiful painting of a lesser size, which might have never been exposed to veneration in a church,"3 became the model for many paintings of the same subject executed in Venice during the ] 7th century. The pcila from Oprtalj (pi. 60)corroborates this hypothesis but now we are also able to point to the intermediate painting between the famous model and its rather clumsy Interpretation. The picture in question is the only known painting by Sebastiano Casser representing, of course, Saint George and the Dragon and it is located in San Giorgio Maggiorc in Venice (pi. 59). Casser, a painter of German origin, the 1 P. F'ortini Brown: La pitturu ncll'etu di Carpuccw, Venezia 1992, pp. 225-232, The author also points out that Carpaecio uses the representations of the Holy Sepulchre, the town Of Rwna ind Alexandria by F.rhard Reeuwich published in I486 and she concludes: "La le*ione essenwale che si ricavue il riconoscimentodel modo in cui Carpaecioclabora continue citazioni architcltoniehe: 1'artistaera ingradudi rafligurare un ambicnteorientale crcdibilc e di gtandc respite solo grime a eostanii manipulation! e rispcttivi adattamcnti dcllc figure c dcirarchitcuuril." - leSenate di Venezia. Mihao mi,p. 112. 1 R. Pallucchini, P. Rossi, Tintoretto. Le open sacre e profane, Milanu 1990, Vol. I (Pallucchini & Rossi), pp. 53, 175-6. The author stresses thai ¡he painting reveals the influence of Veronese to a considerable extent. A. Vcnturi (Vcnturi, p. 1011) mentions another Venetian C'impictenlo painting with the same subject, Bordon's Si George in Gallena Vaticana. tie claims thai Titian's influence may be seen in the figure of ihc princess whi le the rest of ihe painting reveals a taste for rich, overadorned manner, a Cf, the function of ihc so called dicitore in mannerist paintings. W. Sypher, Rinaseimento. mahierisma, barocco, Padova 1968. pp. 166-167. * Cf note no. 4. The identity of the fortified town in ihe painting by Tintoieito is a very intriguing subject, especially in view of ihc painter's rcluciance to travel: it may be completely imaginary, or ¡is is the ease with t'arpaccio's Silenn, a combination of populai representations of any town. w Pallucchini & Rossi, p. 175. 121 pupil, follower and brother-in-law of Domenico Tinlorelto. was considered already by Ridolfi and Boschini to be not only the fortunate heir of Tintoretto's bone get and name hut also a virtuous painter, The painting, very probably executed at the beginning of the 17th century, was described by Brunetti in an illuminating manner in 1920: "II quadro e in pessime condizioni di conservazionc, ma.tuttavia, I'influsso tinioretiescD appare evidentissimo Esso si rivela nella lecmca e nella composi-zione, c, sopratutto, in questa La figura della Principessa, che oecupa Pangolo inferiore sinisuo deJ quadro, e simile neJle movenze, come nel colore dcllc vesti c neM'espresskme, a quella del mirabile S. Giorgio che uccide il drago ch'e nella Gallcria Nazlonale di Londra, e che appartiene a! miglior periodo del Maestro veneziano. Nel quadro del Casser essa, perd, iruppo oppressa dal gigantescocavallo che le incOmhe e che nccupa quasi lulfo il primo piano. Ha saporc lintorcttesco anchc il gruppo di spettatori a sinistra del S. Giorgio, come pure iJ volo d'angeli che sovrasta la scena. Lo sfondo, una cilia turrita. e in condizioni miscrevoli. Tutto rive la un diligente imitaiore di Jacopo, senza per6 alcuna traccia di originality,"11 It is precisely this lack of originality or, better, this inclination to more obvious and therefore simplified solutions that induced the lesser artist to place the actors in more violent and extremely dramatic Spatial relations, thus reducing the metaphone stratification of the representation. The most interesting aspect of this transformation appears in the attitude of the Princess Cleodolinda: the elegant and charming gesture of Tintoretto's Princess, as if caught in slow-motion, presenting renaissance decorum at its hest, has been transformed into a violent torsion of the body and vigorous swing of the left hand - here we have a young woman fleeing for her life forgetting all the niceties. Still, the painting by Casser differs from its model in two important points: St. George on horseback is facing the observer and the rearing horse is boldly foreshortened; furthermore, the grim urban landscape illuminated by infernal red lighl from the setting sun does not follow the main compositional line of direction.>? D'Anna's interpretation (pi. 60) of the same subject clearly repeats the composition by Casser but il is almost certain that he did so by using a print (Ihe author of which must surely also have been aware of the painting by Tintoretto): the composition is reversed as if seen in a mirror and in the background there is a fortified town very much like the one we have seen in Tintoretto's painting.11 This reversal has a curious effect on the attitude of St George, probably present already in the print - in order to handle the lance with his right hand, he has to thrust it in a 11 C. Ridolfi, be maraviglie ¿/e/i'arre. Veneris I64S (D. F. von Hadefn, ed.. Vol. I, Berlin 1914, Vol. II, Berlin 1924;, Vol. II. pp. 262-3; Thieme Becker Lexikon. Leipzig 1912, Vol, VI. p. 12S; M. Brunetti, La continuity della tradi/ione arlislica nella famiglia del Tintoretto,Studidi arte, e .ftvriu, Vul. I. Vene/ia 1920. pp. 270-1, note no. 2. '' Apart from using ihc famous painting by his lather-in-law as the model, Casser mighl have used some preparatory sketches as well. " lis baroque appearance is probably due lo ihe later intervention. In the lower righthand corner there is the signature: BALDISSERA D ANNA P. In the 18lh century the painting was cut to fit ihe new frame (the present dimensions are 250 % 125 cm) and was very probably heavily rcpamlcd at the same time, Cf, A. SantEtngelo, InveiUUfio deyh Oggetti d arte d 'Italia, Pmvinaa di Pola, Roma 1935 .p. 174. 122 most awkward way, over the horse's neck. The spatial relations between d'Anna's St George, princess and dragon are oversimplified and thus clumsy, so the whole looks rather flat and unreal. Above St, George there arc illuminated clouds that probably functioned as a frame for the image of God destroyed when the painting was fitted to the new frame in the iSth century. Generally, the painting is of relatively high quality compared to several works by the same author located in Dalmatia, Although much darkened and repainted, it reveals harmoniously Combined colours dominated by mauve and dark green accents. The fleeing princess in an elaborate and richly adorned dress, still showing the original painted surface, represents one of the most successful chapters in d'Anna's work outside Venice, A thorough restoration of this painting might offer some answers to the rather complex problem of the discrepancy in quality and also in the treatment of the painted surface and colours between the paintings attributed to Baldassarc d'Anna in Scuola di San Fantmo and those scattered all over Dalmatia and 1 stria.14 * • * If! order to conclude this short discussion of d' Anna's painting in Oprtalj and its famous models. 1 would like to mention one more painting of considerable quality that can be considered part of this sequence. It is Saint George and the Dragon by Malej Poncun (Matleo Ponzoni) dated to the fifth decade of the 17th century13 and situated on the third aliar in the left aisle of San Giorgio Maggiore (pi. 61). It replaced the painting by Casser and represents an almost baroque interpretation not only of the same subject, but also of the same compositional conception - the Princess, the Dragon, the hovering angels are very similar and the sides are not reversed. For his composition PonCun observed the older painting that he had near at hand but he also made use of a beautiful and very popular xylograph of the same subject by Giuseppe Scolari (pi. 63), of which D. Rosand and M. Muraro write: "In ess a to Scolari raggiunse i| pie no dominio espressivo c lecnicodei suoi mezzi grafici. Altribuilo a Tiziano da Papillon e da altri, il disegno di que st'opera pu6 cssere invecc con side rato una van ante del Marco Cunio affrescato dal Pordenone sulla facciata del palazsco d'Anna.. "ll6 Scolari, originally from Vicenza, was a member of the Venetian Mariegola of painters from 1592 to 1607, He is supposed in be Magan7.a's pupil hut under strong influence of Titian's art, both xylography and painting; he was one of the few xylographers who invented and cut their compositions. His works are characterised by powerful expressionism, dynamic forms and violent contrast of light and shade and dramatic tension: "Ogni forma delle sue vivaci composition! partecipa del pathos del tema e del soggetto; 14 P. Zam petti: Guula a lie opered'arte u S. FantineAieneO Ven eta, Veiieiia 1973, pp. 257. 37-39; ft- Pallucehini, Im pittura Meneziana del Sticento. Milano 1981. Vol, 1 (Fallucchini), pp. 54 i; C, L .imentani Virdis, i famigliad'Anna a Venecia, contatli col Pordenone, Tizianoe Tintoreno, II Pordenone, atti del convegno internazionaledi studio, Pordenone 198 5. p. 124. 11 I'ailucchini, p. £6. M. Muraro and D. Rosand, Tiziano e la silografla veneziana del citujuecento, Venezia 1976(Muraro & Rosand), p, 153, The dimensions of llie xylography arc 524 x 359 mm, 123 miraverso linee vorticose e bagliori improvisi si concrete M ntcssaggio espressivo; sono essi che danno ia mi sura palpitante di vita di ogni i cnEi^i nc".1' In the painting by Poniiun the saint on the rearing horse is not bent forward and charging to pierce the dragon as in Casser1 s rcprezentation, but instead he looks towards heaven acquiring a triumphant attitude derived in detail, not only in form but also in the content of expression from the triumphant but also terrified St George by Scolari. Thus, it seems that the baroque aspect of the painting is more an interpretation of Seolari's expressive manner than the sign of the «en1 style, It is no wtinder that Ponzoni used pans of Casser's composition for the painting that was destined to replace it, but it should be pointed out that for his early pala (about J 615) now in S. Maria dell 'Grlo (pi. 62). he used Cesser's St George and not the popular xylography by Scolari." * * + This brief survey of the problem of a compositional conception popular in Venice at the beginning of the ] 7th century bears out the hypothesis of the relative conceptually of the great majority of the paintings that were executed in the late 16th and 17th centuries even though they are considered to be the peak of the realistic (naturalistic) tradition of West European art, In the paintings by Casser. d'Anna and even Poniun, the compositional and narrative focus suffered a major change! for Tintoretto the very well known and almost redundant figure of Si George was only a pretext for a refined and witty game with space and the figure of protagonist (or protagonists), while ihe minor masters had to adhere to the simplicity and clarity rules in order to bring home to the uneducated spectators the whole story without narrative abbreviations of any type." The achievements of the minor artists, compared to the brilliant as well as amazing solution offered 17 Muraro & Rosand. pp. 150-2. " Pallutehini, Vol. I, p. 86. illustration Vol. II, p. 529. K. Prijatelj, Ofeiiike oltaiske pak oko Palme Mladega (Lc pale di Omii intorno a Palma il Giovane). PrUozi povijesti umjeiniixti u Dalmociji, 24, Splii 1984, reprinted in K. Prijatelj: Studijco umjetninama u Dahnaciji, Zagreb 1989, pp. 63-9. In his atLicle Prijatelj discusses j puinting situated in the parish c^ureh in OmiS and attributes it to PonCun It represents the Virgin with St. George, St. Helen and a donor and the authorsiates that the saint on horseback, similar it> the one on PortOun's painting in S. Giorgio Maggiorc, bears a resemblance to the horsemen in works by Palma il Giovaut, As far as the typology of garments and the painterly technique arc concerned it is easy to agree with this opinion, but theattiiude of St George and also the horse, mils I surely derive from the same source as St George in the painting by the same author in S Maria dctl'Orto. Cf, S. Mason Rinaldi. Patina il Giovane. L'opera completa. Milano 1984 and, by the same author Palma il Giovane, }548-1628, Dixegniedipinri, Milano 1990. especially p, 134,160 and 165 for the specifie knightly garments, f'J In t he e ase je Tintorettova podoba, ki bi zaradi manjših dimenzij morda nikoli ne bila izpostavljena češčenju v cerkvi,1" postala vzor za številne upodobitve iste zgodbe, naslikane v Benetkah v 17. stoletju. Pala iz Oprtlja (si. 60) podpira to hipotezo, vendar pa zdaj poznamo podobo, ki je bila posrednik med slavnim vzorom in njegovim precej nerodnim posnetkom. Gre za edino znano sliko Sebastiana Casserja, ki predstavlja, seveda, sv. Jurija z zmajem in se nahaja v cerkvi San Giorgio Maggiore v Benetkah (si. 59). Casser. slikar nemškega porekla, učenec, naslednik in svak Domen ¡ca Tintoretta, je bil po Ridolfijevem in Boschimjevem mnenju ne le srečni dediC Tintorettove bottege in imena, ampak tudi pošten slikar. Podobo, naslikano zelo verjetno v začetku 17. stoletja, je lepo opisal Brunctli leta 1920: "11 quadro c in pessime condizioni di conservazione, ma, uutavia, rinflusso tiiitorettesco appare cvidentissimo, Ešso si rivela neila tecnica e nelia composizi-one, e, sopratutto. m quesLa. La figura della Principessa, che occupa Tangolo inferiorc sinistro del tjuadro, c strnile ncile movenze, come nel colore delle vesti e nell' espressione, a quella del mirabite S. Giorgio che uccide il drago ch e nella Galleria Nazionale di l.ondra. e che apparticnc al migiior periodo del Maestro veneziano. Nel quadro del Casser essa. percl, e troppo oppressa dal gigantesco " U- Scuote di Venezia, Miiano 1981, p. 112. VdeluR.Palluchini, P, Rossi: Tintoretrv, ie operesacretprafane, Miiano 1990. Vol. I (od tod citirano Pallucchini & Rossi}, pp. 53, 175-6, avtorja poudarjata, daje v podobi zaslediti preccjšen vpliv Vcroneseja. A. Vcnturi{Vcniuri: Lapittura, p. 1011) omenja Se drugo sliko beneškega einqueccnta na isto temo: Bordonejevega sv. Jurija V Vatikanski galeriji, Trdi. daje moč zaslediti Tizianov vpliv pri figuri princese, medlem ko preostali del podobe kaže nagnjenje k bogati, pretirano okrašeni maniri. Cf, funkcijo tako imenovLuic dkiture pri i nameri s lični h podobah, W. 5yphen Kinasci-mento, martierismo, baroeco. Padova 1968, pp. 166-167. " Cf. op 4. Identiteta utrjenega mesta v Tintoretiovi podobi je /ehi zanimiva iema. Se posebej, če poznamo slikarjev strah pred potovanjem. Lahko daje popolnoma imaginar no, kot jc to pri Carpaeeiovi Si leni, kombinaciji znanih predstavitev katerega koli mesta. Pallucchitlt& Rossi, p. 175. 129 cavallo che le incombe e che occupa quasi tutto il primo piano. Ha sapore tintorct-tesco anche il gtuppo di spettatori a sinistra del S. Giorgio, come pure il volo d'angeli che sovrasta le scena. Lo sfondo, Una Citta turrita, e in condizioni misere-voli. Tutto rivela un diligcnte iinitatorc di Jacopo, scnza pero alcuna traecia di origmalitii-"" Prav to pomanjkanje izvirnosti, ali bolje, ta nagnjenost k bolj očitnim in zato poenostavljenim rešitvam, so spodbudile manj pomembnega slikarja, daje postavil udeleiencc v bolj silovite in skrajno dramatične prostorske odnose ter tako zmanjšal metaforično slojevitost upodobitve. Najzanimivejši vidik te transformacije srečamo V dr?! princese Kleodoltnde: elegantna in očarljiva kretnja Tin-toreltovc princese, ki. kot bi bita ujeta v časovno lupo, predstavlja renesančni decorum v njegovi najimenitnejši obliki, seje spremenila v krepak zasuk telesa in močan zamah leve roke. Imamo mlado žensko, ki beii, da bi si rešila življenje in pozablja na vso spodobnost. Vendar pa se Casserjeva podoba razlikuje od svojega vzora v dveh pomembnih značilnostih: sv, Jurij je naslikan enface, vzpenjajoči se konj pa v drzni perspektivi. Tudi pusta mestna pokrajina, ki je osvetljena s peklensko rdečo svetlobo zahajajočega sonca, ne sledi glavni smeri kompozi cije.M D'Annova interpretacija (si. 60) iste zgodbe jasno ponavlja Casserjevo kompozicijo, vendar je skoraj gotovo za predlogo imel grafiko, katere avtor je tudi gotovo vedel za Tintorcilovo sliko: kompozicija je namreč obrnjena, je njena zrcalna podoba. V ozadju je utrjeno mesto, ki je zelo podobno Tintorettovcmu.n Ta obrat sc nenavadno odraža na sv. Juriju, kar je morda bilo videti tudi na grafiki. Da bi lahko držal kopje v desni roki, mora zabosti zmaja na zelo neroden način čez konjski vrat. Prostorsko razmerje med d'Annovim sv. Jurijem, princeso in zmajem jc zelo poenostavljeno in zato okorno, tako da je celota videti prcccj ploska in nerealistična. Nad sv. Jurijem so osvetljeni oblaki, ki so najbrže imeli funkcijo okvirja za Boga, ki je bil izgubljen, ko so sliko dali v nov okvir v 18. stoletju. V celoti jc slika v primerjavi z mnogimi deli istega avtorja, ki sc nahajajo v Dalmaciji, relativno zelo kvalitetna. Kljub temu, da je precej potemnela in je bila večkrat prebarvana, kaie harmoničnost v kombinaciji barv, med katerimi prevladujejo Škrlatni in temno zeleni poudarki- Beieča princesa v umetelni bogato okrašeni obleki Sc vedno kaže prvotno poslikano površino in predstavlja eno najbolj usjješnih poglavij v d'Aiinovem delu izven Benetk. Temeljita restavracija podobe bi lahko dala odgovore na dokaj zapletena vpraSanja v zvezi z razhaja- " C. Ridolfi: Le meruviglte deil'arte, Venetia 1648 (D. F. von Hudeln, cd ,. Vol. I, Berlin 1914, Vol. II, Berlin 1924), Vol H, pp. 262-31. Thiene-Becker Lexikon, Leipzig 1912, Vol. VI, p. 128, M. Brunei ti, La continuité délia tradiz.ione artistica nella famigliadel Tin tore no. Studi d i one e storia. Vol. 1, Veneria 192Ü, pp. 270-1, op. 2. IJ Razen daje uporabil slavno podobo svojega tasta za model, je Casser morda uporabil tudi nekaj prej narejenih skic. 11 Baročni videz je morda n asi al zaradi poznejšega posega. V desnem spodnjem kotu je podpis: BALDISSERA D ANNA P. V 18, stoletju so sliko obrezali, da se je prilegala novemu okvirju (zdajšnje dimenzije so 250 * 125 cm) in zelo verjetno soju (emeljitt prebarvali. Ci A, S a nt angelo; Invtn tario degii oggeiii d'à rte d'haliü, Provinc fa di Pola, Roma 1935, p. 174. 130 njem v kvaliteti pa tudi v obdelavi poslikane povriine in barv med podobami, ki jih pripisujejo Raldassaru D'Anni v Scuola di San Fantino in tistimi, ki so raztresene po Dalmaciji in Istri.IJ ¥ * + Na koncu te kralke razprave o d'Annovem delu v Oprtlju bi rada omenila Se eno dokaj kakovostno podobo, ki jo lahko Štejemo za del te sck vence. To je s v. Jurij in zmaj Mateja Pončuna (Matleo Ponzoni), datiran v peto desetletje 17. stoletja11 in se nahaja na tretjem oltarju v lev j ladji cerkve San Giorgio Maggiore (si. 61). Podoba je nadomestila Cusserjevo sliko in predstavlja skoraj baročno interpretacijo ne le iste vsebine, ampak tudi iste kompozicijske zasnove. Princesa, zmaj in lebdeči angeli so zelo podobni in podoba ni obrnjena. Pri tej upodobitvi je Pončun sledil starejši predlogi, ki jo je imel pri roki, istočasno je uporabil tudi lep in zelo priljubljen lesorez na isto temo, ki ga je naredil Giuseppe Scolari (si, 63), O čemer piSeta D. Rosand in M, Muraro naslednje: "In e*sa lo Scolari raggiunse il pie no dominio espressivo e técnico dei suoi mezzi g ral ici, Aitribuito a Tiziano da Papillon e du allri, il disegno di quest'opera pufi esscre invece considéralo una variante del Marco Cunio affrescato dal Pordenone sulla face ¡a ta del palazzo d'Anna,,."1'1 Scolari, doma iz Vicenze, je bil član beneške slikarske Mariegole od 1592 do 1607. Domnevajo, da je bil Maganzov učenec, vendar pod močnim vplivom Tiziana, tako njegovih lesorezov kakor tudi slikarstva; bil je eden redkih lesoreze«v, ki so sami risali in rezali svoje podobe. Za njegova dela je značilen krepek izraz, dinamične oblike in siloviti kontrasti svetlobe in sence ter dramatična napetost: "Ogni forma del le sue vivaci composizioni partee i pa del patho.s del tema e del soggetlo; atl ra verso linee von ¡cose c bagliori improvisi si concreta il tuessagio espressivo: sono essi che danno la misura palpitante di vila di ogni imagine."11 V Pončunovi podobi sv. Junj na vzpenjajočem se konju ni sklonjen naprej v napadu, da bi pre bodel zmaja, kot v C as se rje v i upodobitvi, ampak zmagoslavno gleda proti nebu, kar se izraia v detajlih, ne le v obliki, ampak ludi v vsebini izraza zmagoslavnega, a vendar prestrašenega S col arije ve ga ji\ Jurija. Tako kaže, da je baročni aspekt podobe bolj interpretacija Scolarijeve izrazne maniré kakor znamenje novega stila, Ni čudno, da je Pon zon i uporabil dele Casscrjeve kompozicije za podobo, ki naj bi nadomestila njegovo delo, vendar pa je treba poudariti, da je za to zgodnjo palo (okrog 1615), zdaj v cerkvi S Maria deli'Orto (sL 62), za vzor imel Casserje-vega iv. Jurija in ne Scuolarijev lesorez.'4 14 P, Za m pet ti: Guilla allí opere d'artt a S. Famine Ateneo véneto, Vcnezia 1973, pp. 257.37-39: R. Pallucchini: La pitturu veneziana delSeicento. Milano 1981, Vol. I, pp. 545: C. l.imentani Virdis, La famiglia d'Anna a Venczia, contaiti col Pordenone. Tizianoe Tintoreuo, il Purdenane, nui de! eonvegno înternazionaledi studio, Pordenone 1985, p. 124, 15 Pallucchmi. Vol. I, p. 86, ,fi M Muraro m IX Rosand: Tiziano e la sitografiû veneziana del cinquecento, Vet 16/.!a 1976 (od lod citirano Muraro & Rosand), p. 153, Dimenzije lesoreza so 524 * 359 mm. " Muraro & Rosand. pp. 150-152. " Pallueehini, Vol. 1, p. 86. ilustracija Vol, II. p. 529; K. Prijatelj,OmiSkeoItarske pale nkd Palme Mludjega (Le pale di Omis interno a Palma it ûiovane), Priloži povijesti 131 » » * Ta kratek pregled problema kompozicijske zasnove, popularne v Benetkah v začetku 17. stoletju, podpira hipotezo relativne konceptualnosti velike večine podob, ki so jih izdelali v poznem 16. in v 17, stoletju. Čeprav jih Štejejo za vrhunce realistične (naturalistične) tradicije v evropski umetnosti. V Casserjevih, d' Aimo-vih in celo Pončunuvih podobah je kompozicijsko in pripovedno žarišče doživelo veliko preobrazbo. Za Tintorctta je bila dobro znana in skoraj odvečna podoba sv. Jurija le pretveza za prefmjcno in duhovito igro s prostorom in figuro protagonista (ali protagonistov), medtem ko so manj pomembni mojstri morali upoštevati pravila enostavnosti in jasnosti, da bi lahko neukim gledalcem jasno pokazali celotno zgodbo, brez kakršnihkoli pripovednih okrajiav.JV V primerjavi z brili-jantnimi kakor tudi nepričakovanimi reí it vami, ki jih je ponudil Tinlureuo. lahko dosežki manj pomembnih umetnikov zavajajo, celo več: popolnoma razkrijejo način mišljenja, ki je postopnu reduciralo, sploščilo (dobesedno in figurativno) ter poenostavilo kompleksno slikovno zasnovo, m jo potem zopet postavijo, včasih v govorici drugega stila, morda celo spremenjeno do nespoznavnosti, umjttrioMi u Dalmaciji, 24. Spi i l 1984. po natis v K. Prijatelj: Študiju o umjetninttlna u Dalmaciji, Zagreb 19S9, pp. 63-y. v svojem članku razpravlja in pripisuje Pončunu sliko, ki se nahaja v župnijski cerkvi vOmiiu. Prikazuje Devico Marijo s sv. Jurijem, sv. Heleno in donatorjem, Avtor irdi, daje svelnik na konju, kije podoben svetniku na Pončunovi podobi v S Giorgio M aggi ure, podoben ttidi konjenikom v delili Palme Mlajšega. Kar zadeva tipologijo oblači I in slikarsko tehniko, je moč soglašali s to trditvijo, vendar pa dria sv. Jurija in konja gotovo izhaja i/ istega vira kol sv. Jurij na sliki istega avtorja v cerkvi S, Mir ia deli'On o. Cf. S, Mason Rinaldi; Palma il Giovane, i. 'opera completa. Milanu 1084, in istega avtorja Pa trna ilGiovane. IS4S-!f>2S, Dhegnie drpin ti, Milano 1990, ic posebej str. 134, 160 in 165 glede značilnih viteških oblači I. V pci 1111:111 Pončnna je načelo jasnosti morda povezano / novimi idejami, za katere seje zavzemala Cerkev, Cf, R. Witlkower; A rt andArdntecture in Ilaty 1600*1750. llat-mondsworth 1973. pp. 21 - 2; in Trat tat i darte del cinguecento fra mamerimv e contro-r¡forma. Bari 1960-3, posebej Se Borromeove Instrai tiortes (vol.3) in Paleottijev Dr r- ¿«TO(Vol. 2), 132