Francesco from Milan

The goldsmith Francesco Antonio de Sextis from Milan, author of the famous Shrine of St. Simeon commissioned by the Hungaro-Croatian Queen Elizabeth, is the most significant representative of medieval goldsmith’s trade in Croatia.

Although numerous works have been dedicated to the master and his art, some of the archival data regarding Francesco’s life have remained unnoticed. Recent research of the Zadar archives revealed some fifty yet unknown documents in which the master is mentioned.

Unfortunately, none of them refer to one of his works, and only three have to do with new assistants, but their quantity indicates the master’s constant presence in Zadar. Based on artistic similarity to the Shrine of St. Simeon, the fact that Francesco moved to Nin before he died makes it possible to determine the master’s authorship of the reliquaries of St. Asel and St. Marcela, kept in the treasury of the Parish Church in Nin.

Another work, which could be more cautiously ascribed to Francesco da Milano, is the procession cross in the church of St. Simeon in Zadar, displaying certain artistic similarities to both the Shrine of St. Simeon and the reliquaries from Nin.

Source: hrčak PDF