At “Perugino master of Raphael” two paintings seeking for a conceptual reading
-
- Perugino, installation view at Musée Jacquemart André, Paris.
-
- Perugino, San Bernardino, after his death, restoring the sight of a blind person, 1473; tempera on wood, 79 x 57 cm. Perugia, Galleria Nazionale dell’Umbria © Per gentile concessione della Soprintendenza BSAE dell’Umbria-Perugia (Italy).
-
- Perugino, Saint Bernard cures the daughter of Giovanni Antonio Petrazio da Rieti of an ulcer 1473; tempera on wood, 79 x 57 cm. Perugia, Galleria Nazionale dell’Umbria © Per gentile concessione della Soprintendenza BSAE dell’Umbria-Perugia (Italy).
-
- Perugino, Saint Mary Magdalene, Circa 1500-1502; Oil on wood, 47 x 35 cm Florence, Istituti museali della Soprintendenza Speciale per il Polo Museale Fiorentino – Galleria Palatina, Palazzo Pitti.
-
- Perugino, installation view at Musée Jacquemart-Andre, Paris.
Among the 50 artworks the exhibition “Perugino Master of Raphael” gathers together at the extraordinary Musée Jacquemart-André, in Paris (until 19 January 2015), there are two paintings by the Italian master from Città della Pieve that aroused our interest.
The first one is part of the cycle commissioned by the Franciscan order in Perugia to Bartolomeo Caporali, Perugino’s Master, to decorate a niche of the Oratory of San Bernardino in Perugia. The cycle is dated 1473 and since Caporali owned the most active studio in town at that time, art historians believe that several artists worked on its creation (Teza 2004/2007, Mancini 2007).
Even if to pinpoint the author of each of the eight paintings of the “San Bernardino niche” is a problem not fully resolved yet, the two panels from this cycle currently on exhibition in Paris are attributed to Perugino. The one picturing San Bernardino while restoring the sight of a blind person is particularly worth of attention. The three windows that characterize the metaphysical architecture’s background – so near to Piero della Francesca’s Flagellation – are probably the most symbolic, mysterious and effective element of the entire image. From the left to the right, the first window is opened, the second half opened, or half closed if you prefer, and the third is completely closed. It could be read as a reference to the problem of sight, but also to that of the artistic representation – a similar issue has been represented by Jana Euler in a group of three portraits currently on exhibition at the Kunsthalle Zurich. Moreover, the three windows could be regarded as a reference to what, or who, is inside, behind the window, and can’t be seen: Saint Bernardino’s preaching was mainly directed against gambling, witchcraft, sodomy and usury.
The second painting we would like to comment on is the Saint Mary Magdalene’s, that is considered one of Perugino’s masterpieces, painted at the apex of his brilliant career, almost twenty years after he had worked at the decoration of the Sistine Chapel in Rome with artists such as Sandro Botticelli, Domenico Ghirlandaio, and Cosimo Rosselli. Magdalene is painted under the influence of Leonardo da Vinci’s style as if she were an elegant woman at the Florentine court, with a fashionable hair dressing and a wide squared neckline. As if it were a fashion brand’s logo, her name is written in gold on the edge of her vest. But what is really surprising is that she has make up on. If you look carefully, you will be able to spot eye-liner, blush and lipstick. But Perugino probably considered that it was appropriate for a disciple of Christ.
September 22, 2014
