Master Radovan’s Portal

Built in the first half of the thirteenth century, the Cathedral of St Lawrence in Trogir is one of Dalmatia’s finest religious edifices. It is a three-aisled basilica with a hall, and each of the aisles terminates in a semi-circular apse. The finest part of the construction is the Romanesque portal built by Master Radovan in 1240. A Latin inscription on the lintel of the sculpted portal bears the date of the work and its craftsman, and its design and execution: FUNDATUR VALVE POST PARTUM VIRGINIS ALME PER RADUANUM CUNCTIS (...) ‘This portal was constructed in 1240 after the Glorious Virgin Birth, by Radovan, who is the best in this art, as evident on the statues and reliefs, under Bishop Treguan the Tuscan, from the City of Flowers.’ (Florence)

The sculpted portal as it appears today was worked on by a number of sculptors and modified several times. The different areas interact in a remarkable way and the coherence of the ensemble is due to the constant adherence to the initial concept and the unity that governed the iconographic repertoire.

Most of the portal that can be seen today was the work of Master Radovan. However, two phases of later work can be also be observed.

The first portal is relatively simple and contains no sculpture, and its single arch is still visible over the doorway. There are sculptures of lions around the entrance, surmounted by the statues of Adam and Eve. The same artist sculpted the three relief carvings of the apostles on the external southern door jamb, which corresponded to the northern jamb that was also decorated with figures of the apostles. A late Gothic sculptor created the apostles that we see today.

Radovan tackled numerous themes. The atlantes on the portal’s foundations support the jambs on each side of the entrance, which are adorned with representations of the signs of the Zodiac accompanied by illustrations for the twelve months. The small columns near the entrance are decorated with sylvan and mythological scenes. In the middle of the portal’s upper section, in the centre of the iconographic repertoire, is the lunette, in which Master Radovan created a unique composition of the scenes of the Nativity, the Voyage of the Magi, and the Adoration of the Shepherds. The choirs of angels, the scenes of the Annunciation, the Adoration of the Magi, and Joseph’s Dream are represented in the semi-circular arch that surmounts the lunette.

Over the next decades, several sculptors followed Radovan and worked on the portal, which was extended. Other iconographic scenes were added to it, such as the Flight into Egypt, the Baptism in the river Jordan, the Temptation of Christ in the desert, the Entry into Jerusalem, the Washing of Feet, the Arrest, the Flagellation, the Crucifixion, and the Resurrection with the Three Maries featuring on the external arch surmounting the tympanum.

The iconographic repertoire of the portal of the Cathedral in Trogir makes it very original and unique. It is also remarkable for the variety of its influences, which reveal the diversity of medieval Mediterranean art, combining elements borrowed from Romanesque Italian art, Byzantium, and the Muslim East.