L'Italo-Americano

L'Italo-Americano THURSDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2023 www.italoamericano.org 4 A d e l i c a t e b l u e r a i n c u r t a i n unfolds gently i n f r o n t o f a m a s t e r p i e c e , m o m e n t a r i l y s h i e l d i n g i t from view. This allows visi- t o r s a t t h e e x h i b i t i o n a moment of isolation from the rest of the room, focusing solely on the perfection of the i m a g e b e f o r e t h e m . A n d there it is, Perugino's Bap- tism of Christ. Eyes sparkle w i t h s u r p r i s e , m u c h l i k e u n w r a p p i n g a g i f t f o u n d under the Christmas tree. The Renaissance is unveiled. In Milan, commemorating t h e 5 0 0 t h a n n i v e r s a r y of Pietro Vannucci's, bet- t e r k n o w n a s P e r u g i n o ' s , death, the city has dedicated its traditional art event at Palazzo Marino to this great artist. A seminal work of his, the "Baptism" not only illus- trates the heights of artistic expressiveness but also con- cludes a captivating journey f o c u s e d o n t h e p a i n t e r ' s complex personality and the tumultuous history of the altarpiece to which the dis- played panel belonged. O r i g i n a t i n g f r o m t h e National Gallery of Umbria, this work was part of the p o l y p t y c h i n t h e c h u r c h of Sant'Agostino in Peru- gia. Created during Perugi- no's full maturity in the early 1500s, the Baptism of Christ is a large panel (265 x 147.5 cm) that was meant to domi- n a t e t h e c e n t e r o f a t w o - faced polyptych, facing the nave - and the congregation. Surrounding this oil paint- ing, several other panels fea- turing saints and sacred sto- r i e s h i g h l i g h t e d t h e centrality of faith in Christ- ian life, starting with the purification of Baptism. Pre- sented at Christmas, as done by this Milanese exhibition, the work assumes an even m o r e p r o f o u n d m e a n i n g . However, the panel tran- scends the religious signifi- cance it represents and com- municates. T h a n k s t o a n u p d a t e d interpretation of technical, historical, and documentary data, the original structure of the altarpiece, disassem- bled during the Napoleonic era and later centuries– with the Saint Bartholomew now residing at the Birmingham Museum of Art in Alabama – has been fully reproduced digitally for the exhibition. T h i s e n a b l e s v i s i t o r s t o admire not only Perugino's live masterpiece but also an animated reconstruction of the entire polyptych com- missioned by the Augustin- ian friars for their church's main altar. This imposing s t r u c t u r e , c o n s i s t i n g o f about thirty panels distrib- uted over two sides, began in the years of Perugino's peak i n t h e e a r l y 1 5 0 0 s a n d evolved over the last two decades of the painter's long c a r e e r . H o w e v e r , i t w a s never completed due to the artist's sudden death from the plague. The commissioning con- tract was signed in 1502, but as early as 1495, the skilled w o o d c a r v e r M a t t i a d i Tommaso da Reggio had been tasked with preparing the supports and carpentry. The "Baptism" was certainly painted before June 18, 1512, the date of the second con- tract signed with the friars for the continuation of the work, in which the "Bap- tism" subject is mentioned as already completed. How- ever, by 1523, when Pietro died, the decorative appara- t u s w a s s t i l l i n c o m p l e t e , partly because the artist, always burdened with com- missions, struggled to meet delivery deadlines. Despite its tribulations, the Baptism of Christ is a key work to understand the sen- sational success of Pietro Vannucci around the turn of the 15th and 16th centuries, w h e n h i s s t y l e b e c a m e a q u i n t e s s e n t i a l m o d e l f o r a r t i s t s a c r o s s I t a l y . T h e painting encapsulates the e l e m e n t s t h a t m a r k e d P e r u g i n o ' s f o r t u n e a n d modernity: landscapes that seem to materialize through light, roughness smoothed into fl uid l ines softening f a c e s , a n a t o m i e s , a n d draperies, the presence of angelic beings untouched by a n y d i s t u r b a n c e , a n d a n environment of soft, sweet colors. Everything is mea- sured and orderly. Perugino, the master of all masters BARBARA MINAFRA NEWS & FEATURES TOP STORIES PEOPLE EVENTS Left, a portrait of Pietro Perugino inside the Collegio del Cambio, Perugia (Photo: Marcorubino/Dreamstime) and, right, Carlo Carrà, "Due figure," 1950, one of the works part of the widespread exhibi- tion associated with the one in Palazzo Marino (Milano, Museo del Novecento, Collezione Boschi di Stefano. Photo courtesy of Comune di Milano) CONTINUED TO PAGE 6

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