Radovan

Who is Radovan?

Radovan was a sculptor and architect who lived in Dalmatia, in the 13th century. In Croatian he is commonly referred to as Majstor Radovan or "Master Radovan". Virtually no information exists about the personality and career of this artist, save for his opus, monumental Romanesque portal of the Trogir cathedral.

Radovan has inscribed his name and the year of making of the main portal, 1240, on the lunette above the entrance:

FUNDATUR VALVE POST PARTUM VIRGINIS ALME PER RADUANUM CUNCTIS...

This, not exactly a self-effacing text, informs us that master Radovan was the best in the art of sculpture and that the project was completed in the time when a Tuscan, Treguan from Florence, had been the bishop of Trogir.

That Radovan was a native son of Trogir is attested, among other things, by his name which figures frequently in Trogir's municipal archives in the 13th century. It consists out of four parts: surrounding, on door jamb, are naked sculptures of Adam and Eve on both sides, carried by lions; and inside are numerous reliefs with every-day scenes organised in monthly calendar, and scenes from hunting; and finally in the middle are scenes from the life of Christ: from Annunciation to Resurrection – positioned in arches around tympanum. Finally, in tympanum is the Birth of Christ. The way the figures are formed is very realistic, calling on new gothic humanism, on the trail of the highest achievements of French sculpture.