Marble Madonna Sculpture , Cabianca 1720 / Mramorna skulptura Bogorodice , Cabianca 1720

OPINION ABOUT SCULPTURE FROM FAMOUS CROATIAN ACADEMIC  RADOSLAV TOMIĆ 

A bust of the Virgin made of white marble is preserved in private ownership in Split. Her frontally placed head is slightly bowed, slightly lowered gaze with hints of a slight smile. The head is covered by a drapery that falls to the shoulders covering the drapery of her dress. Efforts are dense and fall naturally.

The Virgin’s narrow face with accentuated lips, finely modeled nose and eyes with prominent eyelids and eyebrows is rendered expertly. In addition, it should be emphasized that her facial expression is soft and gentle, in a way that shows her mental strength.

According to the way the lower edge was cut, it can be assumed that the statue was originally larger and that it probably belonged to an ensemble that depicted the entire figure. In this sense, it can be thought that it is a fragment of a sculpture that stood on the altar and had a sacral function.

The sculpture previously belonged to the prominent and well known family Župa – Mimbelli from Orebić on the island of Pelješac, which gives her an additional value. Due to the subsequent cutting, it remains open when and under what circumstances it ended up in a private collection as a decoration in their art-equipped palace. Therefore, her origin is also unknown. Whether it was acquired on the Apennine peninsula or in the Dubrovnik area is difficult to answer, especially since the last owner in Orebić was a collector, so, in principle, he too could have acquired the statue in the years after the Second World War. Please note that marble sculptures are rarely preserved in Dalmatian private collections, although they are sometimes mentioned in archival documents.

The stylistic features indicate that the statue was created in the first half of the 18th century. It can be assumed that it is the work of Venetian sculptors, although one must not lose sight of the fact that clients in the territory of the former Republic of Dubrovnik, to which Pelješac also belonged, knew how to buy works of art in Naples and central Italy (Ancona). In addition, it is known that the wealthy Mimbelli captains had extensive connections with Livorno and Trieste and other cities in Italy. It is precisely for this reason that it is ungrateful to make a final judgment about its author. At the current level of research, it can be pointed out that her elongated, gentle face, with prominent cheeks, shows a certain similarity with the works of the Venetian sculptor Francesco Cabianca (Venice, 1665 – 1737) and his workshop. The sculptor Cabianca worked in Venice, Friuli, but for a number of years he lived and created in Kotor and Dubrovnik. In Kotor, with numerous collaborators, he created a large and important oeuvre, while many of his works were recognized (always in collaboration with the workshop) in Zadar as well.

It can be repeated once again that privately owned marble statues from the 17th and 18th centuries are quite rare in Dalmatia. The Orebić statue shows with its undisguised beauty that it is the work of a trained sculptor who was able to shape not only the physical properties but also the spiritual dimension of the Virgin’s personality.

Split, January 23rd 2022. Prof.dr. Radoslav Tomić 

MIŠLJENJE O DJELU ČUVENOG HRVATSKOG AKADEMIKA RADOSLAVA TOMIĆA

U privatnom vlasništvu u Splitu čuva se poprsje Bogorodice izrađeno u bijelom mramoru.  Njezina je frontalno postavljena glava blago pognuta, neznatno spuštena pogleda s naznakama blagoga osmjeha. Glavu prekriva draperija koja se spušta na ramena prekrivajući draperiju njezine haljine. Napori su gusti i padaju prirodno.Bogorodičino usko lice naglašenih usnica, fino modelirana nosa i očiju s istaknutim vjeđama i obrvama izvedeno je znalački. Uz to treba naglasiti da je izraz lica blag i nježan, na način koji iskazuje njezinu duševnu snagu. Prema načinu rezanja donjega ruba može se pretpostaviti da je izvorno kip bio veći i da je vjerojatno pripadao cjelini koja je prikazivala cijelu figuru. U tom smislu može se pomišljati da je to ulomak skulpture koja je stajala na oltaru te je bila u sakralnoj funkciji. Skulptura je prethodno pripadala istaknutoj i dobrostojećoj kapetanskoj obitelji Župa – Mimbelli iz Orebića na otoku Pelješcu što je njezina dodatna vrijednost. Zbog naknadnoga rezanja ostaje otvorena kada je i u kojim okolnostima dospjela u privatnu zbirku kao ukras u njihovoj umjetninama opremljenoj palači. Stoga je i njezino podrijetlo nepoznato. Je li nabavljena na Apeninskom poluotoku ili u dubrovačkom kraju teško je odgovoriti tim više što je posljednji vlasnik u Orebiću bio kolekcionar pa je, načelno, i on mogao pribaviti  kip u godinama nakon Drugo svjetskog rata. Napominjemo da je mramora skulptura u dalmatinskim privatnim zbirkama posve rijetko sačuvana, iako se ponekad spominje u arhivskim dokumentima.

Stilske osobine ukazuju da je kip nastao u prvoj polovici 18. stoljeća. Može se pretpostaviti da je djelo mletačkih kipara, iako se ne smije smetnuti s uma da su naručitelji  na području nekadašnje Dubrovačke republike, kojoj je pripadao i Pelješac, znali kupovati umjetnine i u Napulju te središnjoj Italiji (Ancona). Uz to je poznato da su imućni kapetani Mimbelli imali razgranate veze s Livornom i Trstom te drugim gradovima u Italiji. Upravo stoga nezahvalno je dati konačni sud o njezinu autoru. U sadašnjem stupnju istraženosti može se ukazati da njezino izduženo, blago lice, istaknutih obraza pokazuje određenu sličnost s djelima mletačkoga kipara Francesca Cabianke (Venecija, 1665. – 1737.) i njegove radionice. Kipar Cabianca djelovao je u Veneciji, Furlaniji ali je niz godina živio i stvarao u Kotoru i Dubrovniku. U Kotoru je, s brojnim suradnicima, ostvario velik i važan opus dok su mu brojna djela prepoznata (uvijek u suradnji s radionicom) i u Zadru. 

Još jednom se može ponoviti da su mramorni kipovi iz 17. i 18. stoljeća u privatnom vlasništvu na dalmatinskom prostoru posve rijetki. Orebićki kip pokazuje svojom neskrivenom ljepotom da je djelo školovana kipara koji je bio sposoban  oblikovati ne samo tjelesna svojstva nego i duševnu dimenziju Bogorodičine ličnosti. 

Split, 23. siječnja 2022. Prof.dr. Radoslav Tomić