The Madonna of Trieste

Parin’s first major Catholic painting, finished in 1911 when he was splitting his time between Munich and Trieste, takes the form of a monumental triptych that pays homage to Italian Renaissance sacra conversazione (holy conversation) altarpieces. In the central panel, which measures 7.7’ x 4.3’, the Virgin Mary, dressed in a white gown and an elaborately embroidered mantle, sits on an elevated throne in a three-quarter position against a background depicting Trieste’s port. She looks out at the viewer as she hugs the Christ Child close to her chest. The painting’s style and iconography, which pays homage to past masters like Titian, demonstrate Parin’s training under a Venetian master. In Christianity, Stella Maris is also a traditional title for Mary, signifying “Our Lady, Star of the Sea,” an appropriate designation for a Madonna who protects the Austro-Hungarian Empire’s only seaport.

Originally flanking the central panel, the only part of the triptych in the Springer Collection, were paintings of two saints who were important to Trieste’s early Christian history: their patron saint, Justus (Giusto) on the right, and Saint Sergius (Sergio), who had converted to Christianity there on the left. Both were martyred during the early fourth century.

Parin exhibited the painting, which featured a well-known member of the city’s Jewish community as his model (Fanny Tedeschi), in Trieste in 1911 and then at the 2nd National Art Exhibition in Naples in 1913. It helped establish his reputation as a painter of Christian subjects, which soon began to include regular contributions to Trieste’s Christmas exhibitions.