Books and Proceedings

The book’s author, Dr. Zoraida Demori Staničić provides a first systematic analysis of a body of icons that originated in Dalmatia from the 13th to 19th century, interpreting their role in the region’s religious and cultural life. These holy pictures, celebrated with a “high degree of veneration”, served as material strongholds for both personal and public devotions over the long centuries of the Middle Ages. As the most precious symbols of every community, icons became even more prominent during the Catholic Reformation, after the Council of Trent. Dalmatia is a region rich in different types of icons of finest artistic quality and this edition provides precise descriptions of the types of Byzantine and post-Byzantine icons and their Dalmatian variants. The book is based on fieldwork, archival research and study of relevant published literature, characterized by insights into individual pieces and providing stylistic and iconographic analyses, while the proposed interpretations and syntheses are grounded on research of the historical and social context. What is particularly interesting is the insight the reader gains into the life in the past from the accounts of customs of offering of jewellery, crowns, silver coverings for icons, various votive gifts, candle lamps and thrones for exhibiting and transporting the icons; suchlike material evidence of icon veneration speaks of their public function and systematic care the communities provided for their holy pictures.

Zoraida Demori Staničić (Split, 1952) graduated in art history and English language and literature from the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in Zagreb, where she also received her M.A. and Ph.D. From 1977 to 2000 she worked at the Ministry of Culture, Department of Conservation in Split as a conservator art historian, and from 2000 to 2005 as a senior inspector for the protection of cultural heritage. Since 2005 she has been employed by the Croatian Conservation Institute, where she is head of the Division for Branch Departments. As a conservator she has worked on numerous heritage objects across Dalmatia, and has taken part in the protection and presentation of many collections of religious art. She has recovered, interpreted and valorised a series of works of art, participated in scientific and professional conferences home and abroad, as well as exhibitions held in Croatia and elsewhere. From 1980 to 2011 she served on the editorial board for the periodical Prilozi povijesti umjetnosti u Dalmaciji [Contributions to art history in Dalmatia] and since 2010 of the Portal journal. She is a recipient of the Order of Danica Hrvatska with the Face of Marko Marulić [lit. Order of the Croatian morning star; for services to culture] (1997) and the Vicko Andrić Award for conservation (2001).