L'Italo-Americano

L'Italo-Americano THURSDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2023 www.italoamericano.org 6 NEWS & FEATURES TOP STORIES PEOPLE EVENTS Pietro di Cristoforo Van- nucci, referred to as the "best master in Italy" by Agostino Chigi, a major patron, and banker of the Renaissance popes (summarizing two fun- damental aspects of his work: exceptional personal artistic quality and the contribution of collaborators), became k n o w n a s P e r u g i n o o n l y w h e n h e s t a r t e d w o r k i n g away from his homeland. The Umbrian painter's fame grew notably after his arrival in Rome in 1478, with signifi- c a n t p a p a l c o m m i s s i o n s , foremost among them being the decoration of the Sistine Chapel's side walls, where he worked alongside Sandro Botticelli, Ghirlandaio, and Cosimo Rosselli from 1481 to 1 4 8 2 . H i s w o r k s t h e r e , including the 1482 fresco of the Baptism of Christ, The Journey of Moses to Egypt, a n d m o s t f a m o u s l y T h e Delivery of the Keys, marked a transition to a "modern" style focused on composi- tional harmony and the soft, blurred use of color. B o r n a r o u n d 1 4 4 8 , h e t r a i n e d i n t h e U m b r i a n - Marchigian school of Piero della Francesca and in the Florentine school of Verroc- chio, where he was a pupil between 1470 and 1472. He also had the opportunity to acquaint himself with anoth- er great master of Renais- sance painting, Leonardo. H o w e v e r , h i s f a m e w o u l d eventually be eclipsed by a t a l e n t e d s t u d e n t h e w e l - comed into his workshop, who would relegate him to being known merely as "the master of" Raphael Sanzio. Yet, Giovanni Santi, painter and father of Raphael, con- sidered Perugino a "divine painter." Although he was a central artist of the Renaissance, the m o s t f a m o u s a n d s o u g h t - after between 1480 and 1500 i n R o m e a n d F l o r e n c e , Perugino's fame gradually dimmed, overshadowed by t h e c r e a t i v e t a l e n t s o f Leonardo, Michelangelo, and Raphael, until it reached our days faded and undervalued. As part of the commemora- tions of the 500th anniver- sary of his death, an exhibi- tion titled "The Best Master i n I t a l y : P e r u g i n o i n H i s Time" was curated by Marco P i e r i n i , D i r e c t o r o f t h e National Gallery of Umbria, and Veruska Picchiarelli, conservator of the Perugian m u s e u m , w i h t t h e a i m t o present a more accurate per- spective on the artist, who passed away at the age of seventy in 1523. Through 70 works, Pierini and Picchiarelli aimed to restore the role assigned to him by his contemporaries and audience, who consid- ered him the most important painter active in the last two decades of the 15th century. Among his greatest master- pieces, all predating 1504, at the zenith of his long and extraordinary career, are: the Pietà of San Giusto alle Mura now at the Uffizi Galleries in Florence; the Altarpiece of San Domenico in Fiesole; the C r u c i f i x i o n i n t h e C h i g i Chapel in Sant'Agostino in Siena; the Battle between Love and Chastity created in Mantua; and the Marriage of the Virgin painted between 1501 and 1504. Originally intended for the Chapel of t h e H o l y R i n g a t P e r u g i a Cathedral, it was transported t o F r a n c e b y N a p o l e o n ' s troops and is now preserved a t t h e M u s é e d e s B e a u x - Arts in Caen, Normandy. His works also include the Gal- i t z i n T r i p t y c h n o w a t t h e National Gallery in Washing- ton and the Polyptych of the Certosa di Pavia, largely at the National Gallery in Lon- don. The curators also high- lighted how Perugino left a profound mark not only in Umbria, Tuscany, and Lazio, prestigious theaters of his work, but also on artists geo- graphically and culturally d i s t a n t f r o m P i e d m o n t , Emilia, Lombardy-Veneto, and even Naples, who never- theless approached his works a s f u n d a m e n t a l t e x t s f o r study. The Baptism of Christ dis- played in Milan centers on the episode narrated in the Gospel of Matthew, recount- i n g J e s u s ' s j o u r n e y f r o m Galilee to John to be bap- tized in the Jordan. John w a s i n i t i a l l y a s t o n i s h e d , believing that Jesus should baptize him, but Jesus said, "Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness." After Jesus was baptized, he came up from the water, the heavens opened, and he saw the Spir- it of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. Then a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased." Perugino's painting cap- t u r e s t h e m o m e n t w h e n John the Baptist pours water over Christ's head, with the Holy Spirit descending as a dove from the heavens. In t h e a r t w o r k , J e s u s l o o k s downward, and the Baptist, clad in a garment that leaves half his chest bare, a knotted cord around his waist, and a red drape falling from his shoulder, holds a long, slen- d e r p r o c e s s i o n a l c r o s s . Flanking them are two sym- metrical angels: one gazes upward with hands crossed o v e r t h e c h e s t , w h i l e t h e other looks downward, con- templative. The feet are immersed in a watercourse that resembles more a stream than the Jor- dan. The water reaches the ankles and is so clear that the feet are visible. The land- s c a p e i s q u i n t e s s e n t i a l l y Umbrian: gentle hills, trees w i t h s l e n d e r t r u n k s a n d orderly crowns. The light is pale under a clear, blue sky. In the background, at the center, the outline of a city is discernible. T h e p e r f e c t a n a t o m y , monumental bodies arranged i n p e r s p e c t i v e , a n d f a c e s reminiscent of ancient Greek statuary speak to Perugino's Renaissance painting style: the scene is minimalistic, the color accentuates the subject, and the figures are elegant and graceful. While balance dominates, Perugino's ability to capture spirituality and beauty through painting and nature is evident. It was no c o i n c i d e n c e t h a t G i o r g i o Vasari, the first art historian and a perfect embodiment of the multifaceted late Renais- sance artist, applauded the outcomes of his painting: "So pleasing was it in his time, that many came from France, Spain, Germany, and other provinces to learn it." The Baptism of Christ is meritorious in itself, but the digital setup, focusing on the symbolic meanings of water as a source of purification and rebirth, helps both in r e c o v e r i n g t h e c o l l e c t i v e vision of the original work and in reflecting on human virtues, a central theme of Humanism and the founda- tion of the Renaissance. This is especially true when con- sidering the overall meaning of the widespread exhibition that unfolds across the eight districts of Milan. In neigh- b o r h o o d s t h a t w e r e o n c e autonomous realities and are n o w i n t e g r a t e d i n t o t h e metropolis, other exhibitions of masterpieces are set up, connected by the theme of childhood: "The Virgin" by Francesco Hayez, "Madonna and Child with St. John" by Bertel Thorvaldsen, "Two F i g u r e s " b y C a r l o C a r r à , "Holy Family" by Giovanni Carnovali, "Maternal Love" by Angelo Dall'Oca Bianca, "Adoration of the Magi" by Adolfo Monticelli, "Materni- ty" by Gaetano Previati, and "Portrait of a Girl" by Achille Funi. It's like a tour through the beauty of art from the Renaissance to the 20th cen- tury, never losing sight of the c e n t r a l i t y o f t h e h u m a n being. A detail of "La Vergine" by Francesco Hayez (1864), a work part of the widespread exhibition currently taking place across Milan (Milano, Galleria d'Arte Moderna. Photo courtesy of Comune di Milano) The Baptism of Christ encapsulates the elements that marked Perugino's fortune and modernity: landscapes materializing through light; roughness smoothed into fluid lines softening faces, anatomies, and draperies; an environment of soft colors CONTINUED FROM PAGE 4

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