Sculpture Collection

The collection comprises works spanning a variety of themes, styles, and artistic significance, created from the 17^th century to the present. It includes portraits of individuals from the social, political, and cultural life of Split and Dalmatia, a range of religious artworks, and sculptural pieces that once decorated the interiors and exteriors of Split’s palaces. The collection also features works on diverse subjects by artists who have a connection to Split through their life, work, or origin.

The oldest sculptures in the collection include a 17^th-century ivory fragment of the Crucifixion by an unknown Venetian master, and three 18^th-century wooden works: Saint John of Nepomuk, by a Central European artist, and a Bishop and a relief of the Madonna and Child, both by an unknown Italian master.

The sculptures of greatest historical and artistic significance are from the 20^th century, notably part of the bronze monument to Marko Marulić created by Ivan Meštrović in 1924, as well as several portraits of figures from the Croatian National Revival, including Ivan Rendić’s portrait of Gajo Bulat, Antun Augustinčić’s bust of Dujam Mikačić, and Ivan Bulimbašić’s portrait of Lovro Borčić. The Collection also features finely crafted plaster casts of portraits of prominent figures from the city’s cultural and artistic life, including busts of Josip Hatze by Ivan Bulimbašić and of Noa Matošić with the singer Balio by Toma Rosandić. The Split painter and sculptor Ivan Mirković, renowned for his skilfully executed caricatures of friends and fellow townspeople, is represented in the Collection by caricatures of Tin Ujević, Ivan Meštrović, Dr. Ivo Tartaglia, Krešimir Čorak, a member of the Savo family, and a portrait caricature of a Split resident.