ITALIAN ART OBJECT OF THE MONTH - DECEMBER 2015
"MOTHER AND CHILD WITH FOUR SAINTS"
Pietro Vannucci - known as Perugino
Oil on Wood
(158cms x 182cms)
Date c1500
National Gallery of Umbria, Perugia.
The year is almost at an end and its time to select another art object. I'm feeling a sense of achievement as I do this at having met the deadline for my postings every single month. In my semi-retirement it's good to have things that impose a bit of discipline on one's life and I've enjoyed making the choices of object, doing the research and collecting images for each one and finally writing them up and publishing them at the end of every month in the blog. From the bits and pieces of feedback I've had they've been well-received and I take great satisfaction from that. I would recommend blog writing as an excellent retirement hobby and one with a practical outlet - being one's own publisher. How good is that? I'm coming up with my last selection for 2015 early because I'm leaving the country for central America in early December and won't be back until early January. In making the choice I decided to remain very traditional and stick with a painting with a theme which relates to Christmas
The picture is a traditonal Renaissance Madonna and Child painted by Perugino and the reason I've chosen it I can hear you asking? - well Perugino is a significant Italian artist of the later 15th early 16th centuries and he was born in the little town of Citta della Pieve - the place where we bought our apartment two and a half years ago. And I also went to see the picture at Umbria's National Gallery in Perugia earlier in the year. Not only did I enjoy seeing this work and others by the artist, but I was also impressed by the high standard of the collection generally. It's a "must see" among many if you ever come to this wonderful city.
THE ARTIST
Pietro di Cristoforo Vannucci, better known as Perugino (a nickname which implied he was from Perugia), was born in the fortified Umbrian hill top town of Citta della Pieve in 1445 and came from a reputable, wealthy family. Little is known about his early life in the town but the property where he was born, in the town square opposite the cathedral, is today marked with a sculptural relief and plaque on the wall. Many of Perugino's admirers come to see it and photograph it.
He probably trained as an arist in the nearby city of Perugia, a flourishing urban centre at the end of the 15th century. Art historians tell us that Perugia was an important centre for the arts at this time with a lot of money being spent on both public and private commissions. Artist's were resident in the city from Florence, Siena and Orvieto and many of them had apprentices.Whilst training in the city there would have been good opportunities for the young artist to imbibe such artistic innovations as a realistic use of light and mathematical perspective. He then seems to have moved to Florence to complete his apprenticeship in the workshops of Antonio Verrochio - a true Renaissance man as he was an accomplished goldsmith, sculpltor and painter of considerable repute. In Florence Perugino would have met Leonardo da Vinci, Ghirlandaio, Lippi and Botticelli and there is evidence to suggest that it was here he learned to refine his drawing skills from life studies taking an interest also in the new art's pre-occupation with issues relating to the movement and expression of individuals in compositions.
In 1472 his long apprenticeship appears to have ended when he became a member of the Compagnia di San Luca, an organisation set up in 1439 to promote artists' interests and its from that point onwards that he set out as an artist in his own right. His considerable talent enabled him to take commissions in Florence, Venice, Perugia and Rome and some of his most important works were completed in the Vatican for the Pope. His most famous fresco is probably "The Delivery of the Keys to St Peter" of 1481-1482 which is in the Sistine Chapel.
An efficient businessman, Perugino also ran two studios, one in Florence which he opened in the 1470's and another in Perugia which started in 1501. It would be in his Florentine workshop that he would teach the young artist Raphael the skills of a painter! Overall, he produced many paintings and examples of his work can be seen not only in museums and galleries throughout Italy, but also in many of the world's most imporant museums.
THE COMMISSION
The painting I have chosen is also known as THE TEZI ALTARPIECE as it was commissioned for placement above an altar in the TEZI family chapel in the church of Sant' Agonstino in Perugia. It seems to have been associated with a predella (a smaller strip like painting underneath the main work) which depicted The Last Supper. This turned up in Frankfurt in 1833 and was sold to the Staatliche Museum in Berlin where it is now. Its the inscriptions on the predella in Berlin that reveal information related to the commission indicating that a man called Bernadino di ser Agostino (by the 18th century this family were known as Tezi) commissioned the work from Perugino for his family chapel in Sant' Agostino.
THE PAINTING
The picture is an oil painting on an oak wooden panel. By this time oil paint was the preferred painting medium in Italy and egg tempera had long gone out of fashion, The oil technique dried slowly, allowed layers of paint to be built up including glazes and delivered an amazing amount of detail when required. The oak panel would have been carefully prepared and sized to fill the grain of the wood before painting began.
The panel depicts the Madonna and Child on a cloud above a landscape and surrounded by four saints. These can be identified as Saint Nocholas of Tolentino left of the Virgin, Saint Bernadino of Siena to her right. Below and to the left is the kneeling figure of Saint Jerome with his attribute of a lion lying just behind him and to the right is the kneeling figure of a partially clad Saint Sebastian complete with arrows piercing his body. In the centre is the shape of what looks like a grave stone but it represents the position of the opening to a tabernacle which would have housed the holy sacrament.
Its these balanced elements which give the picture a great sense of harmony and serenity - a characteristic of most High Renaissance paintings of this period. The techniques are used by Peruginoe's pupil, Raphael in many of his compositions with same effects.
Art historians have shown that Perugino used the same cartoon for the Madonna that he'd used in another of his paintings the "Madonna of the Consolation" which dates from a couple of years before the Perugia one. The composition is harmonious and balanced in terms of how the artist has constructed it top to bottom and side to side. The figures are well modelled and look realistic. The landscape adds a dimension of depth to the composition. These are all devices typically used by Perugino is his compositions at this date There is another work of a Madonna and Child with Saints above the altar of the cathedral in his home town of Citta which shows similar compositional devices. The interesting thing however, is that until relatively recently, art historians believed the colour usage in the painting was not typical of the Master when compared with the other works of the period. An opinion formed that the work probably came from his studio, but that it was largely the result of his workshop assistants with the master only responsible for parts of it. Recent restoration of the work by the experts at the art gallery in Perugia has produced a revised opinion based on the true quality of the picture exposed after the cleaning.
The picture can be seen in the series of rooms 22-28 at the Galleria Nazionale in Perugia.
Perugino died in 1523 having caught bubonic plague whilst back in his home area of Umbria in the small town of Folignano. He was evidently buried in an open field there but if you visit there's a little chapel near the side of the road which remembers the great artist. There's usually a notice pinned to the door suggesting you ring a telephone number of one of a number of local villagers who will come out and unlock it so you can have a peek inside!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year when they finally arrive.
Ciao and KBO
"MOTHER AND CHILD WITH FOUR SAINTS"
Pietro Vannucci - known as Perugino
Oil on Wood
(158cms x 182cms)
Date c1500
National Gallery of Umbria, Perugia.
The year is almost at an end and its time to select another art object. I'm feeling a sense of achievement as I do this at having met the deadline for my postings every single month. In my semi-retirement it's good to have things that impose a bit of discipline on one's life and I've enjoyed making the choices of object, doing the research and collecting images for each one and finally writing them up and publishing them at the end of every month in the blog. From the bits and pieces of feedback I've had they've been well-received and I take great satisfaction from that. I would recommend blog writing as an excellent retirement hobby and one with a practical outlet - being one's own publisher. How good is that? I'm coming up with my last selection for 2015 early because I'm leaving the country for central America in early December and won't be back until early January. In making the choice I decided to remain very traditional and stick with a painting with a theme which relates to Christmas
The picture is a traditonal Renaissance Madonna and Child painted by Perugino and the reason I've chosen it I can hear you asking? - well Perugino is a significant Italian artist of the later 15th early 16th centuries and he was born in the little town of Citta della Pieve - the place where we bought our apartment two and a half years ago. And I also went to see the picture at Umbria's National Gallery in Perugia earlier in the year. Not only did I enjoy seeing this work and others by the artist, but I was also impressed by the high standard of the collection generally. It's a "must see" among many if you ever come to this wonderful city.
 |
| Mother & Child with four Saints - Perugino - 1500 |
Pietro di Cristoforo Vannucci, better known as Perugino (a nickname which implied he was from Perugia), was born in the fortified Umbrian hill top town of Citta della Pieve in 1445 and came from a reputable, wealthy family. Little is known about his early life in the town but the property where he was born, in the town square opposite the cathedral, is today marked with a sculptural relief and plaque on the wall. Many of Perugino's admirers come to see it and photograph it.
 |
| The double arched property to the left of the black drain pipe is the one where Perugino was born. It's possible to see the commemorative plaque directly anove the first arch on the left. |
 |
| Portrait of Pietro Perugino the artist |
An efficient businessman, Perugino also ran two studios, one in Florence which he opened in the 1470's and another in Perugia which started in 1501. It would be in his Florentine workshop that he would teach the young artist Raphael the skills of a painter! Overall, he produced many paintings and examples of his work can be seen not only in museums and galleries throughout Italy, but also in many of the world's most imporant museums.
THE COMMISSION
The painting I have chosen is also known as THE TEZI ALTARPIECE as it was commissioned for placement above an altar in the TEZI family chapel in the church of Sant' Agonstino in Perugia. It seems to have been associated with a predella (a smaller strip like painting underneath the main work) which depicted The Last Supper. This turned up in Frankfurt in 1833 and was sold to the Staatliche Museum in Berlin where it is now. Its the inscriptions on the predella in Berlin that reveal information related to the commission indicating that a man called Bernadino di ser Agostino (by the 18th century this family were known as Tezi) commissioned the work from Perugino for his family chapel in Sant' Agostino.
 |
| Front elevation of Sant Agostino Church in Perugia - the lower part of which dates from the middle of the 13th century. The church was completely rebuilt in the 18th century. |
The picture is an oil painting on an oak wooden panel. By this time oil paint was the preferred painting medium in Italy and egg tempera had long gone out of fashion, The oil technique dried slowly, allowed layers of paint to be built up including glazes and delivered an amazing amount of detail when required. The oak panel would have been carefully prepared and sized to fill the grain of the wood before painting began.
The panel depicts the Madonna and Child on a cloud above a landscape and surrounded by four saints. These can be identified as Saint Nocholas of Tolentino left of the Virgin, Saint Bernadino of Siena to her right. Below and to the left is the kneeling figure of Saint Jerome with his attribute of a lion lying just behind him and to the right is the kneeling figure of a partially clad Saint Sebastian complete with arrows piercing his body. In the centre is the shape of what looks like a grave stone but it represents the position of the opening to a tabernacle which would have housed the holy sacrament.
Its these balanced elements which give the picture a great sense of harmony and serenity - a characteristic of most High Renaissance paintings of this period. The techniques are used by Peruginoe's pupil, Raphael in many of his compositions with same effects.
 |
| Madonna of the Consolation - Perugino - 1498 |
The picture can be seen in the series of rooms 22-28 at the Galleria Nazionale in Perugia.
Perugino died in 1523 having caught bubonic plague whilst back in his home area of Umbria in the small town of Folignano. He was evidently buried in an open field there but if you visit there's a little chapel near the side of the road which remembers the great artist. There's usually a notice pinned to the door suggesting you ring a telephone number of one of a number of local villagers who will come out and unlock it so you can have a peek inside!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year when they finally arrive.
Ciao and KBO
