DALMATA, Giovanni

The picture shows the entrance portal with archivolt, lunette and two superimposed rows of niches, which house ten statues on each side, which are distributed on the sides of the door.

The fragment of an altar from the 1490s was uncovered from the outer wall of the Pauline church in Di�sgy�r (Hungary). According to the evidence of the bishop’s coat of arms, the person commissioning the altar was most likely the Bishop of Csan�d, Johannes de Zokol, who retired to the Pauline monastery of Di�sgy�r in 1493 to live the rest of his life there as a monk. Sometime around 1486 or 1487 the sculptor Giovanni Dalmata, a celebrated artist who had worked in Rome and in Trau (Trogir), arrived at Buda, where the construction of King Matthias’s Renaissance place was under way at the time. Dalmata’s style can be recognized on a number of fragmented stoneworks of the Royal Place of Buda. King Matthias bestowed upon his favourite sculptor awards and property, and it seems very likely that he also commissioned the artist to fashion his tomb. In spite of its fragmented condition, the relief shows the stylistic marks of Dalmata’s best Italian works, providing ample proof of the high standard of Renaissance sculpting in the age of King Matthias.

Dalmata’s last works are the monument of the Blessed Girolamo Ginelli and the sarcophagus of the Blessed Gabriele Ferretti (1509; Museo Diocesano, Ancona); he also worked on the portal of the convent of San Francesco, Ancona.

Blessed Girolamo Ginelli (1451-1506) was born in a noble Ancona family. He entered the convent of St Sebastian in Ancona at a very young age and in 1477 took the monastic habit of the Franciscan Order. His funerary monument is in the presbytery of Ancona Cathedral.

Dalmata’s last works are the monument of the Blessed Girolamo Ginelli and the sarcophagus of the Blessed Gabriele Ferretti (1509; Museo Diocesano, Ancona); he also worked on the portal of the convent of San Francesco, Ancona.

Blessed Girolamo Ginelli (1451-1506) was born in a noble Ancona family. He entered the convent of St Sebastian in Ancona at a very young age and in 1477 took the monastic habit of the Franciscan Order. His funerary monument is in the presbytery of Ancona Cathedral.

The picture shows the lunette above the entrance portal.

Giovanni Dalmata moved to Rome in the 1460s, by which time his style was fully developed. Initially he may have worked with Paolo Romano. The side portal of the Palazzo Venezia, Rome, built for Cardinal Pietro Barbo (later Pope Paul II), belongs to his earliest works.

In Rome Giovanni Dalmata collaborated on many works with two of the foremost sculptors of the day: Andrea Bregno and Mino da Fiesole. His style, however, preserved its individuality, and he apparently did not attempt to match his work to that of his collaborators. With Andrea Bregno he worked on the tomb of Cardinal Giacomo Tebaldi (d. 1466; Santa Maria sopra Minerva) and that of Cardinal Bartolomeo Roverella (1476–77; San Clemente).

Bartolomeo Roverella (1406–1476) was an Italian Roman Catholic bishop and Cardinal of Ravenna. In 1475 he was elected Camerlengo of the Sacred College of Cardinals. In 1462, he was awarded the titular church of San Clemente, where he was buried. The tomb is set against the wall of the north aisle, inside the sanctuary area.

The effigy of the cardinal lies on a sarcophagus decorated with garlands of fruit and foliage. At his head and feet stand two angels. Above him, in a bow-shaped recess, is a low-relief carving of the Virgin enthroned, with the Christ Child, flanked by angels. On the left, St Peter presents the kneeling cardinal to her. St Paul stands on the right. On either side hang curtains, drawn back to reveal the scene. In a semi-dome above, God the Father, surrounded by cherubs, raises his hand in blessing, as he looks down on the effigy of the cardinal.

The tomb of the cardinal in San Clemente is acknowledged to be one of the most significant examples in Rome of early Renaissance sculpture.

In Rome Giovanni Dalmata collaborated on many works with two of the foremost sculptors of the day: Andrea Bregno and Mino da Fiesole. His style, however, preserved its individuality, and he apparently did not attempt to match his work to that of his collaborators. With Andrea Bregno he worked on the tomb of Cardinal Giacomo Tebaldi (d. 1466; Santa Maria sopra Minerva) and that of Cardinal Bartolomeo Roverella (1476–77; San Clemente).

Giacomo Tebaldi (d. 1466) was an Italian bishop and cardinal, called the Cardinal of Montefeltro or the Cardinal of Sant’Anastasia. His tomb is in the left aisle of Santa Maria sopra Minerva.

The tomb of Cardinal Giacomo Tebaldi is attributed to Andrea Bregno and Giovanni Dalmata. The latter executed the cardinal’s effigy, also possibly the statue of St James and a putto. Bregno sculpted the statue of St Augustine.

In Rome Giovanni collaborated on many works with two of the foremost sculptors of the day: Andrea Bregno and Mino da Fiesole. His style, however, preserved its individuality, and he apparently did not attempt to match his work to that of his collaborators.

With Mino da Fiesole he worked on the tomb of Pope Paul II (d. 1471). The tomb in Old St Peter’s was destroyed, fragments are in the Grotte Vaticane, Rome, and the Mus�e du Louvre, Paris. Its original appearance is known from an engraving. It was the largest and most elaborate papal tomb of its date and incorporated more figure sculpture than any contemporary Roman monument. Originally it was in the form of a triumphal arch flanked by two columns, with the carved effigy of the recumbent Pope (by Giovanni Dalmata) lying on a sarcophagus, surrounded by carved reliefs of personifications of Virtues and historiated reliefs above and below. Giovanni was responsible for the reliefs of the Resurrection and the Creation of Eve beneath the bier, the large relief of God the Father in Glory above it and a statue of Hope, which he signed.

Dalmata’s style is original and forceful, showing a knowledge of Classical sculpture, but he had a greater sense of drama and characterization than his collaborators. Typical of his style are the vigorous modelling and triangular forms of the drapery in the figure of Hope.

The picture shows the effigy of the recumbent Pope.

With Mino da Fiesole Giovanni Dalmata worked on the tomb of Pope Paul II (d. 1471). The tomb in Old St Peter’s was destroyed, fragments are in the Grotte Vaticane, Rome, and the Mus�e du Louvre, Paris.

With Mino da Fiesole Giovanni Dalmata worked on the tomb of Pope Paul II (d. 1471). The tomb in Old St Peter’s was destroyed, fragments are in the Grotte Vaticane, Rome, and the Mus�e du Louvre, Paris.

From 1481 Giovanni Dalmata was employed in Hungary by King Matthias Corvinus. Many of his works there have been destroyed, but a bas-relief of the Virgin with Two Female Saints (Magyar Nemzeti Gal�ria, Budapest), the octagonal fountain and the statue of Hercules with the Hydra of Lerna, both in Visegrad Palace, and some decorative fragments in the Palace at Buda survive. He was presented with a castle by the King in 1488 but never took possession of it. On the King’s death in 1490, Giovanni returned to Italy.

The photo shows the red marble octagonal fountain in the courtyard.

Giovanni Dalmata’s earliest works include the side portal of the Palazzo Venezia, Rome, built for Cardinal Pietro Barbo (later Pope Paul II), and the lunette and other sculptures on the fa�ade of the tempietto at Vicovaro.

The Tempietto of San Giacomo Maggiore is one of the most significant architectural examples of the early Renaissance in Lazio, built at the behest of Giovanni Antonio Orsini in 1448.

Fascinating is the majestic entrance portal with archivolt, lunette and two superimposed rows of niches, which house ten statues on each side, which are distributed on the sides of the door. Three sides are occupied by slightly splayed mullioned windows, open in the centre of the wall and decorated with bands of columns on polygonal bases; in the middle of the mullioned window, an octagonal pillar supports the tunnel made up of the heraldic rose of the Orsini.

Giovanni Dalmata’s earliest works include the side portal of the Palazzo Venezia, Rome, built for Cardinal Pietro Barbo (later Pope Paul II), and the lunette and other sculptures on the fa�ade of the tempietto at Vicovaro.

The Tempietto of San Giacomo Maggiore is one of the most significant architectural examples of the early Renaissance in Lazio, built at the behest of Giovanni Antonio Orsini in 1448.

Fascinating is the majestic entrance portal with archivolt, lunette and two superimposed rows of niches, which house ten statues on each side, which are distributed on the sides of the door. Three sides are occupied by slightly splayed mullioned windows, open in the centre of the wall and decorated with bands of columns on polygonal bases; in the middle of the mullioned window, an octagonal pillar supports the tunnel made up of the heraldic rose of the Orsini.

The picture shows the ten statues on the left side of the fa�ade.

The picture shows the ten statues on the right side of the fa�ade.