摘要：This text deals with the phenomenon of statue as a public sculpture. It indicates man’s capability and need for modeling an object of no utilitarian value. From time immemorial, man has created statues out of need for artistic expression or from his desire to leave behind an object of permanent value. With his skillfully modeled sculptures he made vows to a deity, ingratiated himself to rulers or created it to the memory of a person who indebted his environment. The text also draws attention to the frequent misuse of public sculpture in the function of a monument that permanently magnifies a great leader or current ideology. The author therefore indicates the importance of positioning a sculpture in a public area, the correlation of the statue and its urban setting, and promotes the idea that public monuments should be replaced by urban sculptures. It particularly emphasizes the importance of urban planning in positioning public sculpture as well as the interpolation of the monument into already defined urban wholes (most often a square as a place of public reunion/gathering). Contrarily, unorganized and non-systematical defining of erecting public statues result in occasional actions of erecting sculptures and monuments of often disputable results. The paper also brings a chronological review of existing public sculpture – monuments in Split, their sculptors and importance.
