Portret Sigmunda Freuda, utemeljitelja psihoanalize i jednoga od najutjecajnijih mislilaca dvadesetoga stoljeća donio je Oscaru Nemonu (1906. – 1985.) svjetsku slavu, stavivši istovremeno u fokus njegov tadašnji, ali i sav predstojeći kiparski rad. Sigmund Freud pozirao je Nemonu dva puta, 1931. i 1936. godine, a izvedba prvog portreta postala je uporištem afirmacije i ključnim mjestom recepcije Oscara Nemona kao portretnog kipara. Portreti Sigmunda Freuda, uz one kasnije Winstona Churchilla, najpoznatije su, najcitiranije i najreproduciranije kiparove portretne skulpture. Svoju popularnost i reputaciju zahvaljuju ponajprije svom slavnom modelu, odnosno njegovu kultnom statusu ikone znanosti i kulture zapadne civilizacije. Međutim, Nemonovi su radovi i vrsni primjeri portretnoga kiparstva, a glava Sigmunda Freuda (1936. – 1947.) jedna je od najkvalitetnijih Nemonovih portretnih skulptura. Rad se bavi kontekstom nastanka portreta, narudžbom, odnosom između kipara i modela, historiografijom Nemonova portretiranja Freuda, a donosi temeljitu analizu realiziranih verzija portreta i spomenika Sigmundu Freudu te komparaciju Nemonovih portreta s kiparskim portretima Freuda drugih autora. Godine 1931. Nemon je povodom Freudova sedamdeset petog rođendana po narudžbi Bečkoga psihoanalitičkog društva izveo Freudov portret. Portretne sesije, održane u vili Mauthner u bečkom predgrađu Pötzleinsdorf, rezultirale su trima bistama – u umjetnom kamenu, bronci i drvu. Verzija u drvu, koju je Freud odabrao kao svoj rođendanski dar, danas se nalazi u Freudovu muzeju u Londonu. Portret iznosi idealiziranu interpretaciju koja zahvaća bit Freuda kao intelektualnog predvodnika psihoanalize, odražavajući rane kiparove dojmove i njegovo uvažavanje Freudovih intelektualnih doprinosa. Pet godina poslije, 1936. godine, povodom Freudova 80. rođendana, Nemon još jednom radi Freudov portret. Ovaj je put koncipirao posve drugačiji tip portretne plastike: punu figuru u sjedećem položaju, a na zahtjevan kompozicijski zadatak odgovorio je inventivnim rješenjem što ujedinjuje mirovanje i pokret. Puna figuru u sjedećem položaju, u pola prirodne veličine, 1947. godine postavljena je u Institutu za psihoanalizu u New Yorku. Sjedeći portret je kasnije uvećan, odliven u bronci i 1970. godine postavljen kao javni spomenik u Londonu, u blizini kuće u kojoj je Freud proveo svoje posljednje godine života. Osim sjedeće figure, Nemon je oko 1936. godine napravio i Freudovo poprsje u pola prirodne veličine te reduciranu bistu. Nemon je na temelju portretnih sesija iz 1936. godine napravio i izvrstan portret Sigmunda Freuda, u tipološkoj varijanti glave bez poprsja (datiran između 1936. i 1947.). U odnosu na prvi portret Nemon ovdje poseže za značajnim formalnim mijenama, koje su u službi psihologizacije portreta. Nemonovi portreti i spomenici Sigmunda Freuda vrsni su primjeri portretnoga kiparstva, a glava Sigmunda Freuda (1936. – 1947.) jedna je od najkvalitetnijih i najistančanijih Nemonovih portretnih skulptura i uopće jedan od najupečatljivijih modernističkih kiparskih portreta prve polovice 20. stoljeća kojim je ovjekovječena jedna od ikona zapadne civilizacije.

This paper presents an unknown document about the construction of the marble tabernacle in the Corpus Christi chapel in the former Osor Cathedral, which has been attributed to the Venetian sculptor Alvise Tagliapietra (Venice, 1670–1747) through stylistic analysis. An archival source reveals an agreement concluded in Venice on September 20, 1708, between the representatives of the confraternity of Corpus Christi from Osor and Tagliapietra, whose workshop was located in the parish of San Moisè. The sculptor agreed that he would complete the works within five months. He was also to procure a small, gilded metal door and a statuette of the Risen Christ made of gilded copper. The price of the tabernacle was three hundred ducats, to be paid to Alvise in three instalments. He was to receive the first part upon signing the contract, the second during the work on the tabernacle, and the last upon delivering the tabernacle and installing it in the cathedral. Another contract published here was signed between the confraternity and the Venetian altar maker Zuanne Trognon in Cres on July 20, 1710. The master was to carve a new marble altar for the chapel to place Tagliapietra’s tabernacle on it. Trognon agreed to construct the altar for a total sum of 230 ducats, to be paid in three instalments, the last upon delivering the altar to Osor. Zuanne undertook to complete the entire work by June 1711. Finally, the altar arrived from Venice by boat on June 12, 1711, requiring additional funds from the brethren for its transportation, assembly, and placement in the confraternity chapel. Tagliapietra, like other Venetian sculptors, also received commissions from private clients. These concerned artworks for the sumptuous interiors and exteriors of numerous palaces owned by the Venetian elite. On this occasion, a marble bust of Venus from the Giusti Palace in Verona has been included in his oeuvre. Another hitherto unattributed work by Tagliapietra can be found in the Oratory of St Jacob located within the former Villa D’Arco in Corno Alto near Verona. It is a sculpture of the Immaculate Conception, similar to Tagliapietra’s allegorical depiction of Faith on the Osor tabernacle. The Venetian sculptor and his collaborators often replicated workshop sculptures due to frequent commissions of the same saintly statues for various churches in smaller towns of Friuli and Veneto. This is indicated, among other things, by Alvise’s hitherto unattributed monumental statues of St Nicholas the Bishop and St George from the parish church of the same name in Colloredo di Prato near Udine. In Alvise’s cycle from Rovinj, on which the master was assisted by his sons, the two large marble angels next to the retable of the altar of St Euphemia stand out in quality. The closest stylistic and chronologic analogy are the monumental angels on the main altar of the parish church in Conselve, carved in 1737. Tagliapietra used the same models for the previously unattributed angels on the main altar of the parish church in Pincara near Rovigo. At the end of his career, he also created a marble sculpture of Our Lady of the Rosary for commissioners from Rovinj. On that occasion, he replicated the monumental statue of the same name that he had carved in 1734 for the Venetian church of Santi Biagio e Cataldo, today located in the parish church of Solesino. It should be noted that Alvise Tagliapietra delivered the same sculpture around the 1740s for the oratory of a villa owned by the Venetian Condulmer family in Zerman near Treviso.

Ljubo Babić (1890-1974) - one of the pivotal figures in twentieth-century Croatian art and culture - frequently addressed the research and theses of Josef Strzygowski (1862-1941) in his writings on various topics, directly or indirectly. Babić’s interest in the work of the renowned Austrian art historian and theorist primarily revolved around formulating ideas that emphasized the significant role of art in shaping national identity. In essence, Babić’s complex views on the role of art in moulding a distinct artistic expression - as a central and constitutive part of cultural identity - can be traced, among other things, to his contemplation of Josef Strzygowski’s though-provoking yet contentious theories on Croatian preRomanesque art and national cultural heritage in general. This paper investigates Strzygowski’s impact on the comprehension and appreciation of Croatian cultural heritage during the interwar period, i.e. on the overall atmosphere in which a broader discourse emerged on the relationship between artistic centres and peripheries, while the pursuit of national artistic expression began to dominate a major part of the Croatian cultural landscape. Consequently, the paper examines connections between Strzygowski and the Croatian cultural milieu between the two world wars. Finally, Strzygowski’s importance to Babić is highlighted, delineating the aspects of his theoretical work that the Croatian artist, critic, and art historian used to support his own viewpoints. Josef Strzygowski’s influence on Croatian culture was undoubtedly profound. Besides positioning himself as a connoisseur and advocate of Ivan Meštrović’s art, this Viennese scholar centred his interest on art-historical material from Croatia. Despite often eliciting direct counterreactions from the professional community - exemplified by Ljubo Karaman’s early theoretical writings on “ancient Croatian monuments” as a critique of Strzygowski - his focus on “our” material secured him an important place within the national cultural milieu of the time. Ljubo Babić, who was at the peak of his creative prowess in the late 1920s, approached Strzygowski’s work without critical detachment, integrating certain segments of the latter’s assumptions into his own theoretical framework. While direct influence cannot be unequivocally asserted, it is apparent that Babić found substantial support for his formulation of the “our expression” strategy in Strzygowski’s views. Both scholars believed that the characteristics of a specific body of art were crucially determined by the geographical area of its creation, with the national component being a pivotal aspect. Consequently, they embraced the concepts of soil, race, and blood, which makes them apologists of cultural nationalism. The relevant ideas of the distinguished Viennese art historian lent Babić additional confidence in presenting his own thoughts as indisputable and firmly established, thus framing the hypothesis that the Croatian people had inherited distinctive features of artistic production from their ancestral homeland - regarding them as a form of “our expression” in the past. Moreover, Babić endorsed Strzygowski’s call for further scholarly research into the history of Croatian cultural heritage, viewing adherence to the principles of geographical and national predisposition of artistic production as facilitating the consensus on “our expression” in contemporary times. Additionally, he concurred with the suggestion to investigate folk art, incorporating the interpretation of colours on folk costumes into his strategic framework. Through his writings and artistic oeuvre, Ljubo Babić strove to help us “reveal ourselves to ourselves,” and the work of Josef Strzygowski provided significant support in this endeavour. The prominent position of the renowned Viennese art theorist within Croatian culture certainly lent credibility to this support. Therefore, the relationship between Strzygowski and Croatian culture should not be solely construed as a kind of rivalry with Ljubo Karaman or as merely stimulating the formulation and development of a significant theoretical scope within Croatian art history, even if devoid of scholarly foundations. Rather, it can also be understood within the context of cultural nationalism during the Croatian interwar period. Such a perspective reveals that Josef Strzygowski and Ljubo Babić inhabited the same intellectual universe, which played a vital role in shaping modern European culture.

The paper analyses statues of Mary the Victorious (Maria victrix, Santa Maria de Victoria, Marija Zmagovalka, Maria vom Siege, Gyözedelmes Immaculata) in the fortified cities at the south-eastern frontier of the Habsburg Monarchy, highlighting some previously unidentified examples of this iconographic type in Petrovaradin and Alba Iulia. These cities were part of a comprehensive fortification system conceived by Eugene of Savoy following Habsburg victories over the Ottomans under his leadership. The paper examines comparative graphic, painterly, and sculptural works that may have influenced the authors of these sculptures. Notably, two altarpieces by Carlo Maratta (1625–1713), executed in the 1660s for the Franciscan church of S. Isidoro Agricola in Rome and the church of S. Agostino in Siena, emerge as highly influential in this context, with numerous artworks modelled upon them. The iconographic type of Mary the Victorious depicts the joint triumph of the Virgin Mary and her Child over Evil, with Christ piercing the personification of evil at their feet with a cross-shaped spear. This paper associates this specific iconographic choice with the origin of these artworks near the Habsburg-Ottoman frontier, interpreting it as an expression of Catholic and Habsburg triumphal rhetoric and propaganda. Some examples suggest probable Jesuit influence, as they were among the primary promoters of this iconographic type. In Osijek, a city of exceptional strategic importance on the south-eastern Habsburg-Ottoman frontier, the iconographic type of Mary the Victorious is represented by two examples. The earlier, more elaborate one, tentatively dated to the 1730s, originally adorned the city gate of Osijek’s fortress Tvrđa. In 1784, together with three other statues, it was placed on the outer perimeter of the Holy Trinity monument in the centre of Tvrđa. The second Osijek example is located in the Lower Town and dated by an inscription to 1757, when it was erected as a votive statue against the plague. Two public statues of Mary the Victorious are located in Petrovaradin, the second most important fortress on the south-eastern frontier of the Habsburg Monarchy. Unlike those from Osijek, the Petrovaradin statues are not free-standing, but inserted into the façade niches of public buildings in the suburbs of the Petrovaradin fortress. The polychromous wooden statue on the building of the Šajkaš Battalion stands out for its quality, with stylistic features pointing to the early decades of the 18th century. The second statue is located in the niche of the nearby Bridge Toll Office building. It is argued that the Jesuits or the Franciscans may have selected this iconographic type, as they were the key promoters of Mary the Victorious. The statues were probably commissioned to commemorate Mary’s role in the Christian victory over the Ottomans near Petrovaradin in 1716, as their locations suggest. Mary’s role as the saintly protector against the plague, which struck the area in 1738, should also be considered. In Alba Iulia, which was the easternmost point of Eugene’s chain of fortified cities, Mary the Victorious is the central statue on the side altar in the cathedral of St Michael, constructed around 1754. In conclusion, the paper presents two examples of sculptural and painterly depictions of Mary the Victorious in the wider frontier area (Požega, Valpovo), commissioned by the Jesuits or members of the Habsburg elite, since due to specific political circumstances, they emerge as key patrons of significant artworks in this region.

Anna Maria Marovich (Venice, 1815 - Venice, 1887), a Venetian born into a family of Boka origins, achieved a reputation for sanctity during her lifetime due to her religious zeal and charitable work. With the initiation of her beatification process, she was formally recognized as an honourable servant of God (It. venerabile). However, she was also highly esteemed for her accomplishments in poetry and painting. Her inclusion in Ivan Kukuljević Sakcinski’s Slovnik umjetnikah jugoslavenskih (Lexicon of Yugoslav Artists) secured her a place in the Croatian gallery of prominent artistic figures. Although information about Anna Maria Marovich’s paintings is often relayed within the context of cultural historiography, relatively little has been said about her oeuvre from an art-historical perspective. Therefore, this paper reconstructs the historical context of her artistic endeavours, tracing her interest in artistic expression within the educational framework typical of an upper-middle-class girl of her era, and examining the support she received from two influential clerics - Abbot Daniele Canal (1791-1884) and Cardinal Jacopo Monico (1778-1851), the Venetian patriarch, with whom she also cooperated in converting monasteries into charitable institutions. Both figures were instrumental in fostering Marovich’s artistic career and played a significant role in promoting her figure and work within the Catholic Church and the Habsburg court. The paper also critically assesses certain assertions regarding Marovich’s painting oeuvre prevalent in scholarly literature, identifying her extant artworks that can be located and those known only through printed sources. Some limited conclusions are drawn about lost pieces that brought fame to the artist and gave rise to stories about them. Notable among these are a painting of Our Lady of Carmel commissioned by the Austrian empress Maria Anna in 1845, and an early piece depicting the Saviour made for Cardinal J. Monico around 1843, which indirectly influenced the imperial commission. Hypotheses concerning lost artworks are largely based on Marovich’s poetry, or rather her poetic exchange with various persons, in which frequent references are made to her paintings. The central part of the article analyses her most significant achievement - the Addolorata altarpiece created for the church of Santa Maria del Pianto o dei Sette Dolori in Venice. This altarpiece, reconsecrated in 1851 at the behest of Don Daniele Canal, was an integral part of the renovated monastic complex repurposed as an educational institution for girls. Surviving studies and drawings, which are here analysed in detail, confirm that Anna Maria Marovich received professional instruction, probably from the painter Maria Tagliapietra, who was active in Venice at the time. Iconographic analysis of the painting suggests that it belongs to the contemplative type of the sorrowful Mother of God, standing in the foreground at Christ’s tomb and praying with folded hands and a slightly lowered head. In previous centuries, such iconography was typically reserved for devotional images and uncommon on church altars dedicated to this cult, especially in pastoral centres. Consequently, it is inferred that Marovich’s altarpiece reflected a more recent or modern development of this form of piety, emphasizing its penitential aspect in alignment with the new purpose of the monastic complex as an institution for the resocialization of girls. The Addolorata altarpiece is also analysed from a stylistic point of view, establishing the painter’s departure from baroque conventions in depicting the subject and opting for classicist elements, consistent with prevailing trends of her time. However, claims that Marovich adhered to the Nazarene school are refuted; her eclectic approach, drawing from various artistic models ranging from the Raphaelesque to the Seicentoist, lacks a discernible preference indicative of a Nazarene influence. Nevertheless, her work resonated with the romantic sensibility of her era, which valued sincerity of motivation over formal properties. In the concluding part of the article, it is established that the figure and oeuvre of Anna Maria Marovich epitomize the European culture of restoration and the policy of the Catholic Church in social modernization, reflected in religious art. In this context, Marovich’s paintings, both thematically and iconographically, reflect the modern evolution of specific devotions popularized during the 19th century, which she actively promoted through her pious, charitable, and monastic activities. While her artistic style may not have been highly innovative, it should be evaluated within the context of the evolving societal role of art in bourgeois culture, where laywomen’s participation in artistic practice gained acceptance and acknowledgment.

In 2019, Baroque murals were discovered in the Franciscan Church of the Holy Trinity in Karlovac, specifically in the chapel constructed in 1748. Initially, the chapel was dedicated to St John of Nepomuk, but in 1904, the dedication changed to Our Lady of Lourdes. The chronicle of the Franciscan monastery (Archivium) in Karlovac preserves the decision of the Karlovac cavalrymen to choose St John of Nepomuk (1746) as their patron saint. Subsequently, the Franciscan guardian and friars requested permission from the general of the Karlovac Generalate to construct a chapel, and the request was sent and approved in the same year. A memorial plaque placed at the chapel’s entrance, engraved with the year of construction (1748) and the names of the donors, Feldmarschall Joseph Maria Friedrich Wilhelm Hollandinus von Sachsen-Hildburghausen and the “Illyrian” cavalrymen, also mentions their commander (cohortis chiliarcha), Maximilian Josef Baron Mittrowsky von Mitrowitz und Nemyschl. His coat of arms, name, and military rank (Vice-Colonello) are represented inside the chapel. The Karlovac Archivium further notes that the murals in the chapel were completed in 1749. Fragments discovered in the upper section of the wall and in the dome allow for a partial reconstruction of the paintings: on the south wall, it was St John of Nepomuk in front of King Wenceslaus (Václav IV), on the opposing north side, the Martyrdom of St John of Nepomuk, and in the dome, the Heavenly Celebration of St John of Nepomuk (?). Analogies with paintings from the 1740s in Štepanja Vas (1744), the Ajman castle near Škofja Loka (1739–1746), and Skaručna (1748) indicate Franc Jelovšek (Mengeš, October 4, 1700 – Ljubljana, May 31, 1764) as the artist. Veneration of St John of Nepomuk after his canonization (1729), particularly promoted by the Habsburg rulers, was part of the cults and religious practices known as pietas Austriaca, adherence to which was increasingly seen as a sign of loyalty to the dynasty, crucial during the wars of Austrian succession.

The polyptych for the altar of St Martin in the Zadar Cathedral, commissioned from Vittore Carpaccio by Canon Martin Mladošić, is one of those works from the painter’s oeuvre whose chronology is still not agreed upon. Various authors dated the Zadar polyptych to almost the entire range of the painter’s activities, from those who considered it a youthful work to those who considered it a late work, created at the very end of his career. The document that was recently found in the Zadar archive sheds a completely new light on the issue of dating the polyptych, excluding all dating in the early years of Carpaccioʼs work, but at the same time exposes the conditions and circumstances of its commission and creation. Namely, on September 12, 1497, in Zadar, Martin Mladošić appointed two representatives, who were supposed to demand from the painter Victor Scarpation (Vittore Carpaccio) in Venice to complete the work on the altarpiece for the altar of St Martin in the cathedral of St Anastasia in Zadar, in accordance with the contract he had previously concluded with the client. It was stated that, if the painter failed to do this, they should take from him the frame carved in Zadar and order the painting from other masters at his expense. However, if he completed and submitted the work, they should cancel the previously concluded contract. Considering Carpaccioʼs signature on the painting, it is obvious that the latter was ultimately achieved. And in the light of the fact that the client and the painter met in person, it can be assumed that the depiction of the donor in the painting is indeed a realistic portrait of a prominent Zadar canon. In combination with the previously known information from Mladošićʼs will, dated April 21, 1496, which referred to the making of the frame, it can be established that the polyptych was commissioned in 1496, and that the painting lasted until the end of 1497 or the beginning of 1498. Dated in this way, the Zadar polyptych can be precisely placed in the time between the two great Carpaccioʼs cycles, that is, after the completion of the Cycle of St Ursula and before starting work on the cycle at the Scuola di San Giorgio degli Schiavoni. The life of Martin Mladošić, in addition to his own notarial books, is witnessed by numerous archival documents, from which it is possible to partially reconstruct his biography, especially his career progression and position within Zadarʼs ecclesiastical circles, where he stood out as one of the most important and influential members of the cathedral chapter. Despite certain disagreements between the chapter and the archbishop, he remained the closest associate and confidant of Archbishop Maffeo Vallaresso. After Vallaressoʼs death, during the vacant episcopal seat, he seems to have been the head of the Zadar church hierarchy, and he retained a key role during the episcopate of Giovanni Robobello. The rise of his ecclesiastical career was accompanied by material prosperity, a luxurious house in the city, and extensive land holdings. So, investing in his own altar in the cathedral was a logical reflection of Mladošićʼs well-being and position. Also, we can assume that Mladošić, satisfied with Carpaccioʼs work, and still connected with the Vallaresso family, played a certain role in his engagement for the work in Scuola di San Giorgio degli Schiavoni.

Gothic chapel of St Jacob (originally dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary) in Očura (Gorjani Sutinski near Radoboj in Hrvatsko Zagorje) underwent Baroque modifications in the mid-18th century (1752). Its degradation, initiated with damage during World War II, primarily impacted the wooden inventory, including altar sculptures that adorned its interior. Among the surviving remnants of the once luxurious Baroque furnishing, a group of seven statues with uniform design features, evidently associated with the extensive furnishing campaign shortly after the building’s renovation, deserves special attention. Only two years later (1754), an Apostolic visitator described the appearance of the remodelled and newly furnished chapel, crediting the local (Mihovljan) parish priest Ivan Kukuljević, later appointed a Zagreb canon (1755), for the entire project. In the last year of his ministry, the symbolic completion of Kukuljević’s efforts to adorn the Očura chapel was marked by the establishment of a branch of the prominent Confraternity of the Holy Rosary, as indicated by a report from the canonical visitation conducted three years later (1758). Unfortunately, records from the aforementioned canonical visitation (as well as later ones) do not provide a detailed description of the newly erected altars or the iconographic programme of their statues. These are known only from a series of historical photographs from the first half of the 20th century, related to the chapel’s devastation. Given the fragmentary preservation of the sculptural ensemble in Očura and its generally poor condition, previous publications could offer only brief stylistic and formal analyses. Nevertheless, the harmonized design of the sculptures’ bases, the roughly hewn and hollowed-out backgrounds, their proportions, and their basic typology suggest that they are part of the same programme. Additionally, the morphological features of the drapery, physiognomy, and anatomy lead to the assumption that they were all produced by the same sculpting workshop. Based on the described affinities with works from the oeuvre attributed to Joseph Straub, it seems possible to connect the Očura statues with his circle, which – in addition to the master’s assistant and successor Joseph Holzinger – included other, anonymous sculptors active in the area of Lower Styria and north-western Croatia.

This paper provides a detailed analysis, for the first time, of the stucco decorations in the representative salons on the second floor of the Sugar Refinery Palace in Rijeka. Despite being an extremely important group of secular stuccos, it has, until now, lacked a thorough iconographic and stylistic analysis and contextualization. Furthermore, no models or masters who produced them have been identified. The Sugar Refinery Palace, specifically its administration building, served as the headquarters of the Privileged Trieste-Rijeka Company, founded in Trieste in 1750 to establish sugar trade in the Habsburg lands. Administration and production were relocated to Rijeka in 1752, when the central industrial complex was organized, and the Administration building was erected. Following the devastating fire of 1785, the building underwent reconstruction, and it was raised in height while acquiring a new representative staircase. It was assumed that the architect behind the renovation was Andrea Menini from Treviso, and recently discovered archival data confirm his presence in Rijeka during 1786. The stone decoration, part of the restoration, also reveals the contribution of Sebastiano Petruzzi, the most prominent sculptor and builder in Rijeka at the time, and his workshop. Between 1786 and 1789, the period to which the frescoes in the western salon with architectural capriccios have been dated, the decoration of the central Ceremonial Hall and the two flanking salons on the western and eastern sides along the façade was executed. The central hall features Corinthian pilasters with beams and is covered by a cloister vault decorated with war trophies and four figural medallions. Although the exact iconography of these compositions has not been determined, it is assumed that they depict scenes from the lives of Roman emperors, possibly the reigns of two “bad” emperors - Domitian and Vitellius - who met violent death, and their “good” counterparts Vespasian and Titus. The overall decoration of this hall reflects late Baroque or Josephine Classicism characteristic of the enlightened Joseph II Habsburg’s reign (1780-1790), manifesting renewed enthusiasm for the art of ancient Rome, its rationality, simple austerity, and cold sublimity. Therefore, the decoration of this hall incorporates numerous models derived from ancient and Renaissance traditions, reshaped in the manner typical of the second half of the 18th century. Notably, the early neo-Classical style in Italy and in Habsburg Tuscany during the time of Joseph’s brother, Grand Duke Peter Leopold II, played a crucial role, with his Florentine residence in Poggio Imperiale, decorated by two stucco masters, brothers Giocondo and Grato Albertolli. In the lateral salons, the finely detailed decoration is still executed in the spirit of late Rococo and painted in soft pastel tones. The cornice under the vault features stucco cameos depicting famous ancient statues, such as Venus Callipyge or Cupid and Psyche, while the ceiling is adorned with war trophies collaged from various graphic templates of the time. Based on stylistic and formal analysis, the stuccos from Rijeka can be associated with the brothers Clemente (Montagnola, 1758 - Kaštel Lukšić, after 1810) and Giacomo (Montagnola, 1763-1838) Somazzi from the Swiss Canton of Ticino. They left a significant stucco oeuvre in numerous churches across Kvarner, the Croatian Littoral, and northern Dalmatia during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The stuccos from Rijeka would be their earliest and only preserved secular work. It is plausible that the brothers worked as part of a larger workshop in Rijeka before starting their career as independent masters in the last decade of the 18th century. It may have been the workshop of Sebastiano Petruzzi, where Clemente is mentioned as an associate and partner in Rab during 1790.

An overview of the façades of Međimurje churches built during the Baroque period reveals a typological affinity with comparable regions in continental Croatia – Hrvatsko Zagorje, Varaždin County, and Križevci-Koprivnica County – as well as some characteristic peculiarities. Most have a bell tower in front of the façade, following a traditional form since the Middle Ages, including churches in Sveti Martin na Muri, Selnica, Prelog, Gornji Mihaljevec, Sveti Križ, Cirkovljan, Donji Kraljevec, Dekanovec, Mursko Središće, Podturen, Sveta Marija, Ivanovec, Sveti Juraj u Trnju, Belica, Nedelišće, Kotoriba, and Razkrižje. The oldest among these are the churches of St Martin in Sveti Martin na Muri and St Mark in Selnica, with bell towers in front of the façade supported by buttresses, along with the likewise older parish church in Prelog. The bell tower of the church in Kotoriba stands out with its curved sides as a high-Baroque design. Apart from being positioned in front of the façade, the bell tower is sometimes located next to it, as observed in the parish church in Goričan and the Franciscan church in Čakovec, where the bell tower’s position follows the tradition of spatial organization in Franciscan building complexes. A third variant within this group is the bell tower’s placement next to the sanctuary, as yet another example of continued tradition, seen in churches in Donji Vidovec, Lopatinec (Sveti Juraj na Bregu), and Štrigova. These examples of adding a Baroque bell tower to the Gothic sanctuary emphasizes continuity and long duration, important features of re-Catholicization in regions with widespread Protestantism. Stylistically more pronounced is the type of façade with an integrated bell tower, prevalent in 18th-century architecture across Central Europe and exemplified by churches in Legrad, Novo Selo Rok, and Kapelščak. The most complex in terms of design are church façades with two bell towers, such as St Jerome in Štrigova and St Rochus in Draškovec. The Pauline church in Štrigova shows numerous parallels with the Maria Trost church in Graz, executed by the Stengg construction workshop – including its prominent position in the landscape, the wide façade with bell towers on the sides, the curved contour of the central gable, and the originally rich architectural articulation. The church in Draškovec is an exquisite combination of late Baroque style in its interior design and emphasized Classicism in the design of the façade and the bell tower. In addition to numerous common features, such as the typology and adoption of certain traditional solutions, the peculiarity of this group of churches in relation to other regions of continental Croatia is the appearance of dynamically shaped façades and bell towers. Churches in Lopatinec and, to a lesser extent, in Legrad have façades along the curve of the ground plan, while the bell tower of the church in Kotoriba has an accentuated dynamic plan, with recessed sides and prominent corners with pilasters. These examples demonstrate the adoption of influences from neighbouring Styria, especially the sacral architecture of Graz’s architect Johann Georg Stengg. Another specificity of the corpus of Međimurje churches is the number of churches designed in the Classicist style, with high-quality achievements in a combination with late Baroque, reflecting the proximity and connectedness of Međimurje to the Hungarian artistic circles. The analysis of bell tower and façade designs in this corpus has shown that within the typological groups present across the area, along with the general features of Baroque architecture, one also finds very specific solutions that corresponded to the needs of the environment. In other words, the adoption of models and their adaptation to the local context is an example of cultural transfer expressing the local character, in which the commissioning environment has left its visible mark.