Mihajlo Hamzić (1482 – 1518) also known as Michael Joannis Theutonici[1] or Michael Hansen,[2] was one of the outstanding painters in 15th century Dubrovnik during the transition from Gothic to Renaissance - along with Vicko Lovrin and Nikola Božidarević.[3]
Mihajlo Hamzić | |
|---|---|
 Triptych, Dominican Church in Dubrovnik | |
| Born | 1482 |
| Died | 1518 (age 36) |
| Nationality | Ragusan |
| Other names | Michael Joannis Theutonici |
| Known for | Painting |
| Works |
|
Biography
editMihajlo's father, Hans, was originally from Cologne in Germany, and had come to work in Ston on the maintenance of cannons. His mother was the daughter of a Ston blacksmith. Mihajlo was born in Ston as the second of four children. He studied art in Mantua at the studio of Andrea Mantegna[4] and returned to Dubrovnik in 1508. He is first mentioned in a document from 1509 in which the Council of the Prayer accepted his painting of St. John the Baptist for the Rector's Palace, Dubrovnik. Soon after that, he painted the "Baptism of Christ" for the great room of the Rector's Palace, where it still hangs today. He also worked as a clerk at the Dubrovnik customs office in order to earn a living.
Mihajlo Hamzić also collaborated with other painters, so in 1512 he brought the painter, Pierre Giovanni of Venice and Vlaho Nikolin of Dubrovnik, into his workshop. He later formed a joint trading business with his brother Jacob, but in 1514 they got into trouble, and Mihajlo was forced to flee from Dubrovnik. When he returned, he restricted himself to painting. A document from 1515 mentions him getting a three-month salvoconduct (residence permit) to paint for the cathedral. In 1518, together with Pierre Giovanni, he was given the task of completing the polyptych for the altar of St. Joseph in the cathedral, which Nikola Božidarević had started, but Hamzić died suddenly before he could finish.[5] He died in Dubrovnik, young and in debt, and sadly his last painting, the polyptych, was destroyed in the Dubrovnik earthquake of 1667.
Works
editHamzić's work marks the end of the golden age of art in Dubrovnik when it began to decline. Only two of his paintings have survived: The baptism of Christ in Rector's Palace and the Triptych for the Lukarević family in the Dominican monastery in Ragusa.
The Baptism of Christ[6] in the Rector's Palace has Mantegna characteristics in which the figures of Christ and John the Baptist are placed with Christ's robe directly in the foreground in front of a wide rocky landscape painted in shades of brown and green, displaying an excellent knowledge of aerial perspective.[1] Hamzić brought lyrical accents and somewhat naïve pictorial elements (birds and deer), into a serious and strictly imagined landscape. This work was first attributed to Hamzić by Karlo Kovač, and Ljubo Karaman accepted his attribution and further referred to Mantegna's apparent influence.
The Triptych for the altar of the Lukarević family in the Dominican church[7] from 1512 is now kept in the collection of the Dominican monastery. In the center of the triptych is St Nicholas, on the left are John the Baptist and St Stephen, and on the right are Mary Magdalene and St Mark. Although the strong modeling of the figures indicates the clear influence of Andrea Mantegna, this painting is very different from the Baptism in the Rector's Palace, being much more successful in its use of color, with fine contrasts and color rhythm inspired by Venetian paintings.[1]
See also
editSources
edit- Karlo Kovač, Nikolaus Ragusinus und seine Zeit, Jahrbuch des Kunsthistorischen Institutes der k. k. Zentralkommission für Denkmalpflege (Wien), 11(1917) str. 9. i 63.
- Ljubo Karaman, O domaćem slikarstvu u Dalmaciji za vrijeme mletačkog gospodstva, Almanah Jadranska straža (Beograd), 1927., str. 558.–586.
- S. Bettini i G. Fiocco, Arte italiana e arte croata: Italia e Croazia, Rim 194.2, str. 301.
- Kruno Prijatelj, Dubrovačko slikarstvo XV–XVI stoljeća, Zagreb, 1968.
References
edit- ^ a b c Radoslav Tomić; Višnja Flego (2002). "HAMZIĆ, Mihajlo (Kamzović, Kančević, Camzouich, Canceuich, Chamza, Chansich; Miho, Mihoč, Mihovil, Michael Joannis Theutonici, Michael Johannis)". Croatian Biographical Lexicon. Leksikografski zavod Miroslav Krleža. Retrieved 18 April 2021.
- ^ Prijatelj, Kruno (1952). Slikar Tripo Kokolja. ISSN 0447-0818.
- ^ Harris, Robin (2006). Dubrovnik: A History. Saqi Books. ISBN 978-0-86356-959-3.
- ^ Antun Vujić, ed. (1996). Hrvatski Leksikon sv. I A-K. Naklada Leksikon d.o.o., Zagreb. p. 432. ISBN 953-96728-1-3.
- ^ Željko Domljan, ed. (2005). Hrvatska likovna enciklopedija [Croatian Art Encyclopedia 3. Goti-Koč]. Vjesnik d.d., Zagreb. p. 34. ISBN 953-98026-5-2.
- ^ Steves, Rick; Hewitt, Cameron (9 June 2015). Rick Steves Eastern Europe. Avalon. ISBN 978-1-63121-112-6.
- ^ Belmarić, Joško (2009). "Nikola Božidarević". Croatia: Aspects of Art, Architecture and Cultural Heritage. Frances Lincoln Ltd, London. p. 118. ISBN 978-0-7112-2921-1.