Giorgio da Sebenico

Giorgio da Sebenico or Giorgio Orsini or Juraj Dalmatinac (; c. 1410 – 10 October 1473) was a Venetian sculptor and architect from Dalmatia, who worked mainly in Sebenico (now Šibenik, Croatia), and in the city of Ancona, then a maritime republic.

Life Giorgio da Sebenico was born to the Roman noble Orsini family in the Dalmatian city of Zara (now Zadar, Croatia), which was part of the Republic of Venice (see Venetian Dalmatia).

He emigrated to Venice during his youth, where he was probably trained as a sculptor in the workshop of Giovanni and Bartolomeo Bon, or at least worked with them as an independent associate. He would not have been awarded the great responsibility of the 1441 Šibenik contract without having experience of major works, and various attributions of surviving sculptures in Venice to him, as part of the Bon workshop, have been made, including the decorations on the Porta della Carta of the Doge's Palace. As his style here has few similarities to other works by the Bons, she considers it most likely that he worked with them when already a master, who had trained elsewhere. She believes his personal style offers few clues as to where this might have been.

Work

His work represents the golden age of Dalmatian medieval art. He was one of main artists of the Adriatic Renaissance, a tendency widespread during the late 15th century in Venice, Dalmatia and in some locations of the Italian Adriatic Coast, such as Ancona. From 1 July 1477, the work on the Šibenik Cathedral of St James was continued by an architect from Tuscany, Niccolò di Giovanni Fiorentino.

In Split, he built several palaces. In 1448, he carved a stone altar in the Cathedral of Saint Domnius, with a remarkable representation of the flagellation of Christ. In Dubrovnik, he helped repair the Duke's Palace and helped build the Minčeta fortress in 1464 and 1465. He also distinguished himself as an urbanist. Around 1450, he made an urban plan for Pag and on a contract from 1441 he signed: "Georgius lapicida quondam Mathei de Jadra Civis Sibenicenis" (trans. "Georgius sculptor son of Matheus from Zadar citizen of Šibenik"). particularly in Italian sources or in older English sources. There are also references to him as "Giorgio Dalmatico" He is rarely listed among Croatian sculptors in English-language sources.