The work of Matko Trebotić, one of the most renowned contemporary Croatian visual artists and our fellow citizen, has been selected from a segment of his oeuvre where Trebotić passionately and continuously engages with Marko Marulić's Judith. His enduring immersion in the currents and messages he discerns in Marulić's work was perhaps best recognized early on by Tonko Maroević, who expressed that "the relationship between the painter and the poet is based on primary attraction, on seeking originality that our contemporary senses in the father of Croatian literature, as a representative of regional and local values and as an advocate of universal spirituality." (Vijenac, issue 186; April 19th, 2001).
Instead of currency exchanges and windows cluttered with advertisements, the neglected facade at the corner of Marmont Street and King Tomislav Street will soon receive a visual dedication to Marulić and his Judith.
The proposal was agreed upon and executed in collaboration with the author. For the work's motto, verses were chosen that could hardly be more relevant despite five centuries having passed since their creation:
God chastises us less than we deserve:
He makes us aware to fear Him,
to leave sin behind, to become better,
so that we do not lose what we have
Marko Marulić: Judith, III 334