Ars Adriatica (Jan 2016)
Contribution to the Study of Matteo Moronzon di Andrea
Abstract
Matteo Moronzon, a member of the Venetian family of woodcarvers, was mentioned for the first time in 1407 according to the present known archival documents. Probably after being trained in his father's workshop in Venice, he moved to Zadar with his family – his wife Francisca and sons Pietro and Francesco. In 1418 he undertook the commission of furnishing carved choir stalls for the cathedral of St. Anastasia in Zadar. Various archival documents testify that Matteo lived and worked in Zadar for many years. Therefore it can be assumed that he probably founded his own workshop in Zadar where his son Francesco was trained too. Apart from the attempt to reconstruct Matteo's life and career, the aim of this paper is to interpret one important woodcarving work of art preserved in situ: choir stalls in the former cathedral of Rab, today the arch parish church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Rab. Without doubt Matteo was the master carver in the production of the choir stalls in Zadar. Since he lived in Zadar it was not unusual that he had the main role in carving the stalls. In Zadar the selection of motives is more balanced and there are no significant differences in the modelling of decorative elements. However, the question whether Matteo carved absolutely everything or he had assistants arises. Considering the amount of work that had to be done it must be assumed that he had assistants who participated in work and helped him to shape the stalls. However, in literature Matteo was considered the only and undisputed author of the choir stalls in Zadar, mostly because of the preserved document. The analysis of the choir stalls in Rab by Ivo Petricioli as well as their evident formal and stylistic similarities with the stalls from the cathedral in Zadar have led to the general acceptance of the hypothesis that they were carved at the workshop of Matteo Moronzon. However, a comprehensive comparative analysis that could confirm that hypothesis was still missing. The analysis of the details and the whole led to the overall conclusion that there were a huge number of similarities between the choir stalls in Rab and Zadar. Therefore it was concluded that Matteo was the principal designer of the choir stalls in Rab who also carved the best parts in Rab, while others, less successful parts, were made by his apprentices and assistants who at the time lived on the island of Rab. In this respect, if Matteo was accepted as the author of the choir stalls of the cathedral in Zadar he must also be accepted as the author of the choir stalls from the excathedral in Rab.
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