THE MADONNA OF THE LILY

The frescoed image of the Madonna of the Lily was to be found in a roadside chapel in the area of Valiano, near the monastery, and was the object of great devotion because of its role in a miraculous event. So much so, in fact, that Pope Urban VIII, between 1642 and 1643, decided to have it moved to the Basilica of San Pietro in Perugia, in a chapel built expressly for that purpose. The work can be attributed to Giovanni di Pietro called lo Spagna, a painter from Spain who was strongly influenced by Perugino.

LE MIRACLE DE SAINT PAUL À MALTE

Cette fresque représente un épisode miraculeux de la vie de saint Paul, survenu à Malte après le naufrage qui le menait à Rome. La scène fait partie des quatre Histoires de saints Pierre et Paul qui ornaient la structure murale qui constituait une clôture du choeur de la basilique, située à l’origine au milieu de la nef médiane. Les fresques ont été détachées et transférées sur la contre-façade en 1591 lorsque l’enceinte murale a été démolie et que le choeur a été installé dans l’abside.

MADONNA AND CHILD

This canvas, a delicate portrayal of the Virgin nursing the Child Jesus, is one of the most significant examples of the work carried out in Perugia by Giovan Francesco Cerrini. On his return to Perugia after his Roman sojourn, in about 1660, the painter committed himself to impressing a strongly classicist style, where harmony of form and bright, clear colors would prevail. The composition of the painting mirrors a later work, the Holy Family with Saint Elizabeth and Saint John, now in the National Gallery of Umbria.

LE CHRIST DANS LA PIETE ENTRE MARIE, SAINT JEAN ET JOSEPH D’ARIMATHIE

Le panneau, représentant le Christ mort soutenu par Marie, Saint Jean et Joseph d’Arimathie, faisait partie de l’extraordinaire polyptique de Saint Augustin de Pérouse, commandé à Pietro Perugino en 1502 et laissé inachevé à la mort de l’artiste en 1523. Pietà occupait le cymatium de la face arrière, face au choeur. Le complexe est resté sur l’autel principal jusqu’au milieu du dix-septième siècle, date à laquelle la structure en bois a été démantelée et les panneaux peints ont été utilisés pour décorer les murs du choeur.

THE LIBERATION OF ST. PETER

The scene is inspired by its famous prototype in the Room of Heliodorus in the Vatican, frescoed by Raphael, particularly in its painstaking illustration of the iron bars, as well as the strong contrast created by the angel’s light piercing the darkness of the prison. The refined presentation of some of the decorative elements, such as the armour of the sleeping soldier in the foreground, the golden helmet of the soldier behind St. Peter, and the jewel enriching the weightless clothing of the angel, stand out.

JESUS AMONG THE DOCTORS OR THE DISPUTATION WITH THE QUEEN OF SABA ADMIRING SOLOMON’S WISDOM

Once the monumental canvas on the opposing wall depicting the Genealogy of the Benedictine Order was finished, Antonio Vassilacchi again committed himself to work for the monks at San Pietro, to create ten more large canvasses to be placed along the central nave. He promised to deliver five canvasses, complete in every detail, by Easter 1594. He agreed to bring the rough sketches of the remaining five paintings to Perugia at that same time.

LA DISPUTE DE JÉSUS AVEC LES DOCTEURS ET LA REINE DE SABA ADMIRATRICE DE LA SAGESSE DE SALOMON

Après la grande œuvre de la toile de la contre-façade représentant l’Arbre de l’ordre bénédictin était terminée, Antonio Vassilacchi s’est engagé avec les moines de San Pietro pour la construction de dix autres grandes toiles à placer le long de la nef centrale. Le peintre a promis de livrer cinq peintures parfaitement exécutées d’ici à Pâques 1594; en même temps, il s’engage à rapporter à Perugia les cinq autres exemplaires esquissés.

THE CLEANSING OF THE TEMPLE AND MOSES BREAKING THE TABLES OF THE LAW

This is a scene that transmits significant physical energy and motion. The theme of the work refers to two particularly powerful episodes in the Old and New Testaments. In the former, Christ rages against the moneychangers in the temple, while in the second episode, Moses is overcome with anger with the people of Israel and breaks the tables of the Law. Here, too, Vassilacchi turns to Tintoretto to study the vivacity with which the Venetian master enlivens his work, including characters caught by the painters daring eye, in highly artificial poses.

THE PROPHET ELISHA CLEANSING NAAMAN

While Giorgio Vasari was particularly well known for The Lives of the Artists, the monumental biographical collection dedicated to the Italian artists active between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, he was also an excellent painter and architect. During his career he had a lot of contact with the artistic world of Umbria: in 1542, on the way to Rome, he stopped in Assisi, together with the local painter, Dono Doni; in 1548 he was involved in the reconstruction of the Rocca Paolina, probably to coordinate the decoration of the project.

THE MIRACLE OF ST. PAUL IN MALTA

This fresco presents a miraculous episode during the life of St.Paul that occurred in Malta, after the wreck of the ship that was to have taken him to Rome. The scene is one of the four frescoes of the Lives of Sts. Peter and Paul that were on the wall structure encompassing the choir of the basilica. The choir had originally been at the center of the middle aisle. When the wall structure was demolished and the choir moved back within the apse in 1591, the frescoes were detached and moved to the opposite façade.

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