Gospa od Škrpjela

Tripo Kokolja (Perast 1661- Korčula 1713)

Archival information about this painter is surprisingly scarce. While we can follow the hectic rhythm of life in Perast, with numerous sailing events, conflicts, duels, and processes through a wealth of existing documentation. Tripo Kokolja is not mentioned in any of them, not even as a witness. The only information we have about him comes from the birth records, the message on the fresco, and his signature on several paintings. He belonged to a modest family, and lived in a constant shadow of his distinguished patron. Archbishop Andrija Zmajević. At the end of the 18th century, Kokolja left Perast and moved to Bol, on the island of Brač, and then to Korčula, where he died at the age of 52.

We know nothing of Kokolja's maturing and education. Stylistic analysis of his works points primarily to Venice, although he might have, together with his patron Zmajević, made it all the way to some workshop in Rome. Through a harmonious combination of Zmajević's ideas and Kokolja's hand, a unique, valuable monument of European Baroque culture was created.

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Tripo Kokolja's works in the church

The third row, on the top of the side walls, contains four large paintings: The Purification of St. Anne, The Descent of the Holy Ghost. The, Death of the Madonna, and The Coronation of Mary.

The Purification of St. Anne - This 5x3-meter painting is the most complex one, both in its idea and its form. Several closely connected themes are combined in one composition. Mary's parents, Joaquin and Anne, who could not have children for a long time, are portrayed offering gifts to the main priest of a Jewish temple, who rejects them with a renouncing movement. All this is taking place in front of a host of people praying in the temple, which is depicted with wide pilasters and two arches. Within the left arch is a dark, cloudy sky. In the right arch, Joaquin is praying, and an angel with wide-spread wings is with him. Above all that is the Immaculata, represented in the usual way:

Mary is in the Heaven, standing in an aura of golden light, carried and surrounded by clouds. She is standing on a half-moon. The crown with twelve stars on her head is the symbol of her heavenly virtues.

The Descent of the Holy Ghost is the most powerful of the paintings, with its dynamics, dramatic quality, and colors. The hall in which the Holy Ghost appears in the form of a dove is decorated with stairs. The image of Mary, although portrayed a bit theatrically, according to the standards of the Baroque, is nevertheless the central aesthetic point of the painting, especially her enraptured facial expression. She is surrounded by agitated apostles, who, while lively gesticulating, are moving in various directions, their heads lifted to the sky in exaltation and their arms spread. All this is meant to convince the observers of the truthfulness of the scene that they are looking at the dove, a symbol of the Holy Ghost, is the most intensely illuminated image. The poetics of contrast, usual in Baroque, also stimulates the observers' emotions, and the scale of blue, yellow, and red tones makes it very appealing.

Mary's Death, as a topic, is displayed over the entire surface of the top part of the south wall (9.30 x 3 m), which is divided by two oval windows. The painting bears all the characteristics of baroque - it overflows with colors, it is overcrowded with images and characters. It displays the usual motifs: roses, lilies, and 42 angels, who look like they have flown into the painting through the windows with thuribles. The apostles and crying figures of women from Jerusalem gathered around Mary's altar display their grief in various ways. Most of their faces bear characteristics of portraits. They express their feelings through mimicking, gestures, body language, or devoted silent prayers. The painting is extremely emotionally charged.

The arch that divides the nave from the altar space displays Mary's Crucifixion in heaven. This is the least successful of the large compositions. It lacks perspective and a certain ethereal quality. The painting is excessively overcrowded, with too many characters piled up together. Mary is kneeling, surrounded by apostles, saints, and angels, who are playing music, as if in a concert of heavenly harmony. She is being crowned by God, the Father and the Son, while the Holy Spirit's dove hovers above her. The right side of the painting, in accordance with Perast tradition, shows the image of Andrija Zmajević, the Archbishop of Bar, standing between St. Jerome and St. Anthony of Padua. With this act, Archbishop Vicko Zmajević, who was the most likely commissioner of the painting, paid homage to his uncle, Andrija Zmajević, who is credited with the renovation, expansion, and decoration of the church.

The ceiling sports scenes from Mary and Christ's lives, displayed in ten octagonal cassettes (The birth of Mary and Christ, Mary and Christ's appearance in the temple, Annunciation, etc.) around the central topic of the holiday to which the church is dedicated, Assumption. Eight hexagonal cassettes display evangelists and church elders (Matthew, Luke, St. Augustine, St. Jerome, etc.), while another eight cassettes, shaped like crosses, contain groups of angels.

Baskets containing roses, lilies, and carnations are the only ones painted on wooden tablets, arranged in twenty square-shaped areas. All the paintings are framed with prominent wooden frames with flower ornaments. They connect the painted decorations into a unified whole with their form and content.

Prophets

The decorations on the walls of the church nave are divided into three rows. The lower row contains eight paintings of prophets with Sibyls to the right and six to the left. These were the painter's first works, so they lack in drawing ability, as well as perspective, compared to the large paintings from the top row and those on the ceiling. The prophets are painted frontally, facing the observer. Through hand gestures, they point to the meaning of the texts written on scrolls and in books. The expression of the prophet Jeremiah is especially powerful. His body is convulsed, and his head bent backwards, while he shouts out famous lamentations on the destiny of his people. The image of prophet Isaiah with the Sybil of Delphi is also artistically well-elaborated. His refined and groomed appearance, with wide-open, worried eyes, and a grey beard and hair fluttering in the wind, are emphasized. Other masterfully painted images include those of Balaam, Habakkuk, Isaiah, David, Moses, Abraham, Ezekiel, Micah, and Agei, as well as the Fiancée, and the Phrygian, Libyan, and Samian Sibyls. Among the depictions of the female prophets, the following stand out: Europea, represented as a beautiful young woman, her head covered with a sheer veil, adorned in pearls, and dressed in a blue gown and a golden cape, and the Libyan Sibyl, the bride from the “Song of Songs”, with flowers in her hair, turned towards David, and trying to draw attention to the text she is holding.