A MIRACLE OF SAINT BENEDICT

During a visit to Rome, Giorgio Vasari accepted a commission from Abbot Giacomo Dei to paint three large canvasses for the refectory of the monastery of San Pietro. Vasari himself describes the subjects of the paintings in this way: “the first, the central canvas, is the wedding at Cana, in Gallilee, during which Christ performed the miracle of turning water into wine; the second, on the right, is Elisha the prophet, who sweetens the bitter contents of the amphora made putrid by the vine of Sodom with flour; and the third is Saint Benedict who, since flour and grain were lacking, gave his monks the flour that the angels of God miraculously brought by mule to the Convent”. The cycle presents iconographic elements tied to the theme of food and the table, using episodes drawn from the Old and New testaments and the hagiography of St. Benedict. The setting, the background architectural structures, the movement and meticulousness of the representation of the figures, are the basis of the canvas depicting the miracle of the table of St. Benedict. This work is clear evidence of the influence of Michelangelo’s work in Vasari’s artistic culture. The sophistication of the artist is seen in the elegant profiles and hand gestures that lend movement to the tale as it is told.