Nikola Božidarević

Nikola Božidarević (pronounced [bɔʒi-ˈdə:rɔvitɕˈ]; more commonly Nicholas of Ragusa (Italian: Nicolò Raguseo, Latin: Nicolaus Rhagusinus, Serbo-Croatian: Nikola Dubrovčanin c. 1460 – 26 November 1517/18), was a painter from Venetian Dalmatia at the turn of the Gothic in the Renaissance.

Nikola Božidarević
Triptych Dominican Church of Ragusa
Born	c. 1460 Kotor, Republic of Venice
Died	26 November 1517 (age 56–57) Dubrovnik, Republic of Ragusa
Other names	Nicholas of Ragusa
Known for	Painting
Works	Triptih in the chapel of the family Bundić Annunciation of the polyptych Bogorodica and saints The altar picture of the Đorđić family

Life

The son of the painter Božidar Vlatković of Slano, he was probably born in Kotor (today Montenegro) around 1460.^[1] He was mentioned in 1475 as a fresco painter at the Rector's Palace, Dubrovnik and in 1476 as a pupil of painter Petar Ognjanović, whose workshop in 1477 was based on the doctrine of Venice.

He was a hard-working and greatly sought-after man, as can be seen from numerous documents and contracts kept in the Dubrovnik archives. Monasteries like the Franciscans in Cavtat and the Dubrovnik Dominicans commissioned works from him, as did noble families and individuals and some churches. After a long stay in Italy, he reappears in Dubrovnik in 1494, where he and his father concluded an agreement for polyptych on Gradić's altar in the Dubrovnik Dominican church.

Works

Of seventeen works by Nikola Božidarević recorded in the Dubrovnik Archives, only four paintings remain:^[2] a triptych on a side altar in the Bundić Chapel of the Dominican monastery in Dubrovnik, The Annunciation in the art gallery of the Dominican church, the Đorđić family's altarpiece in the capitulary hall of the Dominican monastery, and another triptych in the Franciscan church on Lopud has also been ascribed to him.^[3]

Some modern authors credit Božidarević's work as a part of Serbian art and Croatian art.^[4]

• 
  Detail: Model of Dubrovnik held by St Blaise
• 
  Đorđić family altarpiece
• 
  Annunciation

See also

• Lovro Dobričević
• Mihajlo Hamzić

References

1. Cvetnić, Sanja. "The Triptych of the Bundić Family by Nikola Božidarević and the Iconography of Mary in the Sun" (PDF). Faculty of Philosophy in Zagreb. Institute of Art History. Retrieved 8 June 2019.
2. Belamarić, Joško (2009). "Nikola Božidarević". ”Croatia: Aspects of Art, Architecture and Cultural Heritage. Frances Lincoln Ltd, London. p. 108. ISBN 978-0-7112-2921-1.
3. Radovinović, Radovan (1999), The Croatian Adriatic, p. 363, Naklada Naprijed, ISBN 953-178-097-8
4. Grendler, Paul F. (1999). Encyclopedia of the Renaissance. New York: Scribner's. pp. 108-109. ISBN 978-0-684-80511-5.