SPELLO - DISCOVERING A SPECIAL FRESCO CYCLE BY PINTURICCHIO

A BEAUTIFUL FRESCO CYCLE IN THE CHURCH OF SANTA MARIA MAGGIORE - SPELLO

One of the special things about visiting Italy is the sheer delight to be had in visiting its towns and cities. Not only does each one have multiple layers of history and a special atmosphere to boot, endless possibilities for local food and wine (this is especially true in Umbria) - and there is usually something art historical to be enjoyed as well. Indeed many of our trips and days out have been motivated by the seeking out of a morsel I've read about in one of my books on Umbria and Tuscany. This proved to be the case in June 17 when we visited Spello to see the Carpet of Flowers festival written about in the last posting. I knew there was a very special fresco cycle to be viewed in one its churches.

A third of the way up Spello's steep main street, the Via Cavour, is the town's Santa Maria Maggiore church. This ancient building. which dates back to 1285 and much altered and added to in later centuries, was constructed on the site and foundations of a Roman temple dedicated to Juno and Venus.

THE CHURCH OF SANTA MARIA MAGGIORE - SPELLO
The two Roman columns can be seen at the foot of the bell tower.

Clues to its Roman origins can be seen outside where the remains of two columns from the original temple stand at the foot of the bell tower to the left of the Baroque 17th century entrance to the church. Inside there are further reminders of the Roman heritage in some of the church furnishings. The font, for example, was made from a Roman funerary altar dedicated to Roman magistrate Caius Titienus Flaccus; his portrait is revealed in one of the relief panels on the side of the font.

CHURCH FONT MADE FROM A ROMAN TEMPLE
FUNERARY ALTAR

It is the fresco cycle by Pinturicchio however that most people come to see and this is situated in a small chapel to the left of the nave when facing the altar. The frescoes were completed by the artist in 1501.

Pinturicchio is a nickname - it translates in to English as "little painter" and is a reference to his small stature. His real name was Bernadino di Betto and he was born in not far away Perugia in 1454. After his training with various Perugian artists he became a paid assistant of renowned Renaissance painter Perugino whose work I have written about in other posts. Perugino's work can, incidentally, also be found in this church either side of the altar in late frescoes completed in 1521. Pinturicchio became an important artist in his own right however, for not only did he assist Perugino in his commission for frescoes in the Sistine Chapel, he went on to accept commissions in the church of Santa Maria del Popolo in Rome and for the wonderfully colourful and impressive fresco cycle to be found in the Piccolomini library in Siena cathedral. (If you haven't viewed this you have to make a special trip to see it!)

PINTURICCHIO - "The Little Painter" (1454-1513)
Self portrait visible in one of the Spello Frescoes

Here the Baglioni chapel frescoes were commissioned from Pinturicchio by the prior (later Bishop) Troilo Baglioni and executed between 1500 and 1501. In the little chapel there are three main scenes by the artist in lunettes on the three available walls, each enclosed in painted pillars and arches which frame the scenes. Every one is rich in colour and detail and uses the Renaissance techniques of balance and mathematical perspective to create impressions of depth and realism. In all the frescoes there are distant glimpses of local landscapes.

WAITING TO SEE THE BAGLIONI CHAPEL PRESCOES

The subjects come from the life of Christ and as soon as you see the frescoes you can tell Pinturicchio was not only a great technical painter and a master of the fresco technique, but that he was also a fantastic story teller as well. The subjects in detail are:

THE ANNUNCIATION - THE FIRST OF THREE
FRESCOES

The Annunication - is a beautiful and richly composed depiction of  Gabriel holding a white lily in his hand kneeling before the virgin Mary who has been distracted from reading by his appearance. The scene takes place in a Renaissance loggia with a decorative marble floor beyond which is a garden and then a landscape in the distance. There is so much detail here - notice the depiction of God upper left surrounded by angels, sending down a ray of light incorporating the holy ghost in the form of a dove Also notice to the right of the decorative column next to Mary is a frame containing a self-portrait of the artist with a tablet below which indicates "BERNADINUS PICTORICIVS PERVSIN(VS)"

THE PINTURICCHIO SELF-PORTRAIT
ON THE RIGHT OF THE ANNUNCIATION FRESCOE

The Adoration of the Shepherds is on the middle back wall of the chapel and the scene is a columned and pedimented stable. The shepherds look at and revere the baby Jesus and beyond the foreground in another amazingly detailed landscape containing a representation of Bethlehem as an Italian city of the time. Here the Magi procession makes its way forward towards the stable. Towards the top of the lunette a choir of angels sing.

THE ADORATION OF THE SHEPHERDS

Christ among the Doctors is the third scene on the right wall of the chapel. A young Jesus is shown surrounded by a group of "doctors" from the temple of Jerusalem watched by a crowd of onlookers which includes, on the right, a depiction of the commissioner of the frescoes Troilo Baglioni. I love the fact the Jewish temple is represented as a perfectly formed and balanced classical Renaissance domed building set in a lush landscape with tall trees.

CHRIST AMONG THE DOCTORS

DETAIL FROM ONE OF THE BAGLIONI CHAPEL FRESCOES

On that busy morning when crowds were turning up to see this fresco cycle and to listen to their guides telling them its history (it was necessary to pay 2 euros to gain admission to the chapel - so many being allowed in at a time) I was taken back in time and I could easily imagine how important these cycles were in communicating with worshippers attending church. At a time when literacy was limited these bejewelled works of art must have done a fine job in telling and reinforcing the story of the New Testament in what must have been perceived as an awesome experience. The setting may have been Italian, but the whole idea was to provide a constant reminder of the teachings of the church in a familiar, impressive and easily understood way. Today the audiences might by a more secular and cynical lot but it struck me that everyone there was impressed by the sheer beauty of what they saw. I wish there had been time to ask a few of them how they felt about their experience - another time may be. I left the church to mix with the crowds outside feeling I'd once again been privileged to have experienced this church interior with its well preserved works of art. I hoped I would make it back again on another, quieter occasion to see some more of the amazing detail of these wonderful, colourful Pinturicchio frescoes.

Ciao & KBO
Ian