documents in the Dubrovnik State Archives. One Croatian artist who worked mainly in northern Italy was Giorgio Schiavone (or Juraj Ćulinović), who was born in Skradin in Dalmatia and went on to work with Francesco Squarcione in Padua. Today, his paintings are held by several prestigious galleries worldwide, and he is considered the most important Croatian painter of the 15th century. Other famous Croatian-born Renaissance artists that lived and worked abroad, were the Laurana brothers, Francesco (Franjo Vranjanin) and Luciano (Luka Vranjanin), the miniaturist Giulio Clovio (Juraj Klović), engraver and portrait painter Martin Rota (Martin Kalunić-Rota) and mannerist painter Andrea Schiavone (Andrija Medulić). Baroque and Rococo Going into the 17th century, there was a shift of artistic activity away from the coastal region towards inland, continental Croatia. As part of the Venetian Republic, Dalmatia began to rely increasingly on importing art and artists from Italy, particularly Rome and Venice. Meanwhile as the invading Ottomans were pushed back, the north would gradually emerge from a century of war, to improve fortifications, rebuild devastated towns, and enjoy a revival of the arts. There were few Croatian artists and architects producing high quality work during the period. Between the slow recovery of the inland population after the war, and the preference in the coastal regions to employ foreign artists and sculptors, it was mainly Italians, Austrian and Slovenes who created and decorated the many Baroque buildings in Croatia. There was a significant increase in the commissioning of large baroque altars in multi-coloured marble with ornate carving. These were mainly imported from Italy, and replaced the existing stone or wood altars. The ornate Baroque style originated in Rome as a reaction to the counter-reformation in northern Europe, and the Jesuits played a major role in introducing it to Croatia. Large imposing churches were built in numerous places across the country, with accompanying colleges. The most important sites were in Zagreb, Rijeka, and Dubrovnik. St. Catherine's Church, Zagreb is one of the most outstanding examples of Baroque Jesuit architecture in northern Croatia, with its elaborate interior decoration. Completed in 1632, it was renovated in the 18th century following a major fire. The ornate stucco ceiling is by Anton Joseph Quadrio (1721), with frescoes of the heavens by Giulio Quaglio the Younger. Behind the altar is a large trompe l’oeil fresco by Krištof Andrej Jelovšek (1762). The six side chapels have two altars each, the finest