Image note
Three original interpretations of stone vaults & assembled surfaces, informed by The Cathedral of St James in Šibenik. These images explore material and spatial ideas; they are not documentary views or measured reconstructions of the reference. The palette is drawn from the material portrait.
Publication credit: The Chromologium.
Image credits and reuseThe colour strip is the entry’s study palette. Artwork sources and image credits and reuse terms are recorded in the archive.
Artwork recordThree views of one material idea.
The Cathedral of St James in Šibenik uses stone throughout its structure, including distinctive vaulting and dome construction. Its form brings Gothic and Renaissance approaches into a shared building process.
Read the material study01 / Reading the material
A curved surface assembled in stone
Šibenik’s cathedral invites a close reading of the relationship between separate stone pieces and continuous curved form. A joint belongs both to the assembly and to the visual rhythm of the surface. Follow it across the vault before reading the vault as one unbroken silhouette.
02 / From surface to space
Read the whole.
Then the edge.
Curvature can concentrate attention without requiring a new material at every turn. Side light makes the change of direction visible and gives the joint pattern a second role as a field of shadows. Compare a frontal view with one taken along the curve.
Trace how separate stone pieces form a continuous curved surface. Compare the joint pattern with the larger geometry of the vault.
03 / Colour in context
A palette you can work with.
Five tones drawn from the material portrait. Select a colour, compare it on paper and ink, or copy its value into your own study.
Surface
#9f8057
Colour values & paper / ink comparison
oklch(0.619 0.068 73.775) · primary
The colour stays fixed as its surroundings change.
Try the bench exercise
04 / At the bench
Make the observation tangible.
Construct an illustrative curve from repeated segments. Keep the segment size legible, then test how light unifies the pieces. The model studies visual assembly rather than claiming to reproduce the cathedral’s construction method.
Keep a view of the whole beside a close detail. Note the material, lighting and the one variable you changed.
Source & orientation
Keep the reference close.
UNESCO World Heritage Centre. (n.d.). The Cathedral of St James in Šibenik. Retrieved October 10, 2026.
The material readings and bench exercise are editorial studies of this particular reference. The artwork explores its material ideas; the linked source documents the place.
Artwork & cartographic records
Artwork record · Geographic plate record. Map geometry: Natural Earth, public domain. The archive follows its map’s place names, including territories and disputed areas.
A closer look
Questions about this study
What does this study of Croatia focus on?
The Cathedral of St James in Šibenik uses stone throughout its structure, including distinctive vaulting and dome construction. Its form brings Gothic and Renaissance approaches into a shared building process.
Where can I find the original reference?
The Cathedral of St James in Šibenik, published by UNESCO World Heritage Centre. The artwork explores the reference’s material ideas; the linked source documents the place.
What could I try at the bench?
Construct an illustrative curve from repeated segments. Keep the segment size legible, then test how light unifies the pieces. The model studies visual assembly rather than claiming to reproduce the cathedral’s construction method.
Continue by material
