Nova interpretacija sadržaja slike Lazzara Bastianija u samostanu sv. Frane u Zadru

Abstract

The sacristy of the monastic Church of St. Francis (Sveti Frane) in Zadar, held by the Franciscan Province of Saint Jerome, holds a painting by Lazzaro Bastiani, a Venetian painter of the early Renaissance. The painting is venerated as a depiction of the Virgin of Mercy (Ara Coeli). The upper section of the painting features the Blessed Virgin Mary and the infant Jesus. The Virgin is shown sitting in a mandorla made of angels with a crescent beneath her feet. God the Father is placing a crown on her head. Two angels are holding the ends of her outspread cloak, in front of which are saints: the men on the right and the women on the left. A church is depicted against the backdrop of a hilly landscape. It is positioned on a mound, with a railing ending in a staircase leading to it. The lower section of the painting features three groups, all genuflecting: men to the left, children in the middle, and women to the right. The group of men is dominated by the figure of Pope Sixtus IV (1471‒1484). Even after 175 years of research, the following questions remain contested: • the dating of the painting and the date of its arrival in Zadar • the identification of the patrons and the interpretation of the painting’s symbolism • the identification of the shrines depicted in the painting, and, finally • the identification of the historical figures featured. The aim of the authors is to try to elucidate, at least in part, the theological and historical context of the painting’s production, and to identify the historical figures and the shrine of the Blessed Virgin Mary depicted therein.