Santa Maria delle Grazie (Varallo)
The church of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Varallo was built together with the adjoining Franciscan monastery by Father Bernardino Caimi between 1486 and 1493 at the same time as the work on the Sacro Monte began . In March 1931 Pope Pius XI. elevated it to the dignity of a minor basilica .
history
The architectural complex, consisting of the monastery and the church, follows the typical approach of the religious buildings intended to accommodate the Franciscans . The church is built in the Gothic style, which shows a very sober expression here. The interior shows the typical division into the room for the faithful and that for the religious, namely by a partition wall reaching to the ceiling (the "tramezzo" ), which is supported by three round arches ; the central arch leads to the hall reserved for the monks, and the two sides house as many chapels . It is an approach that is said to go back to Bernardine of Siena (and is therefore referred to as the "Bernardine module"). Gaudenzio Ferrari created one of his most artistically valuable works on the large partition wall in 1513.
A similar decorative structure with a partition entirely frescoed depicting scenes from the life of Christ (often of great artistic quality) was typical of the religious and artistic culture of the Franciscans in Piedmont and Lombardy between the 15th and 16th centuries. Century. Among the painted partitions that have survived are the churches: San Bernardino in Ivrea , Santa Maria degli Angeli in Lugano , Santa Maria delle Grazie in Bellinzona and San Bernardino in Caravaggio .
The Franciscan monastery at the end of the 15th century was far larger than what can be seen today from the square where the monument to Gaudenzio Ferrari stands (a work by Pietro della Vedova, 1874). The old building comprised two cloisters , the cells of the friars, a refectory, the library and the work rooms (which were mainly used for the construction of the Sacro Monte).
A number of frescoes, which have now disappeared or worn, adorned the outer walls of the monastery. A still legible Pietà is (with a lot of reservations) regarded as a youth work by Gaudenzio.
After the Franciscans had given up the monastery, which had been affected by the time, at the beginning of the 20th century, numerous polemics accompanied the restoration of the place with the construction of the square and the use of some parts for purposes of public construction.
Since 1953, the building complex has been the seat of the Missionary Sisters Suore Missionarie di Gesù Eterno Sacerdote.
The wall of Gaudenzio
The scenes: Annunciation of the Lord , Natività , Adoration of the Magi , Flight into Egypt , Baptism of Jesus , The raising of Lazarus , Entry into Jerusalem , Last Supper of Jesus , washing of feet , prayer in the garden Gethsemane , arrest of Jesus , Jesus before Herod , Jesus before Pilate , scourge column , Pilate washes his hands in innocence , Via Dolorosa , preparation of the cross , lamentation of Christ , descent of Christ into the underworld , resurrection of Jesus Christ ; in the center of the crucifixion
As is often the case with Franciscan churches, the austere exterior does not give an idea of the richness of the works of art that are contained therein. Around 1880 a high-class visitor like Jacob Burckhardt wrote with enthusiasm: "What an artistic splendor is spreading in this poor church!"
In the moderate atmosphere of the church with its Gothic arches that support the exposed roof trusses, the gaze is immediately drawn to the scenic effect and the vividness of the colors that characterize the paintings on the large partition.
The frescoes carried out by Gaudenzio Ferrari represent one of the masterpieces of Renaissance painting in Piedmont and Lombardy. They tell the life and suffering of Christ with scenes that cover an area of 10.4 × 8 m: twenty areas of equal size tell - according to a traditional geometrical scheme, which was devised for the educational function of the Biblia pauperum - the most important events in the evangelical description from the Annunciation to the Resurrection of Christ . Another scene four times its size in the center of the wall represents the dramatic climax of the narrative and the natural point of convergence for the gaze of believers: the crucifixion of Christ .
The painter, who comes from the Valsesia Valley, created the magnificent frescoes on this wall in 1513 (as indicated by two medallions with the handwritten inscription “Gaudenzius Ferrarius Vallis Siccidae pinxit”), when he had been working on the Sacro Monte for at least ten years and already excellent works such as the polyptych of St. Anna had created.
In the realization of the frescoes on the wall in the church of Santa Maria delle Grazie, Ferrari is up to date with the news of the Italian Renaissance; first with regard to the lesson that Leonardo had left behind in Milan (the Last Supper by Gaudenzio, for example, seems to imitate the moving drama of the Last Supper by da Vinci from a different perspective ; the rocky landscapes in the background of some scenes are also influenced by Leonardo). Then there is the lesson from Bramantino with his ability to make the figures stand out like statues, which stand in the foreground in comparison to charming architectural perspectives; and then the lesson of Perugino and the other central Italian painters that Gaudenzio saw on his journey to Rome .
But if you look for the “real” artistic sources of Gaudenzio in the realization of the wall with the scenes from the life of Christ , Giovanni Martino Spanzotti - at that time he was still active - should be mentioned, who was 25 years earlier had created a similar work by painting the large wall of the Church of San Bernardino in Ivrea with frescoes, the influence of which was clearly noticeable in the first works relating to the Sacro Monte. The nocturnal scene of the capture of Christ is the almost literal quotation of a similar painting by Spanzotti in Ivrea, using painterly techniques that anticipate chiaroscuro depictions in the light of the torches that were so popular with Caravaggio's followers .
However, at the height of the years in which he realized the frescoes, Gaudenzio Ferrari demonstrated an independent artistic personality. When he “looks back” on Martino Spanzotti - aware of the most celebrated artistic novelties - it is a homage to the “human and even more humanistic nobility” of Ivrea's frescoes, to his poetics, which refer to the reality of humble people looks at their faith, which they experience as a search for the meaning of daily life's toil.
It has been noticed that this retrospective of the painter from Valduggia wholeheartedly succeeds in reinterpreting the painting techniques of the Piedmontese Gothic, starting with the old Jaquerio, when it serves to obtain additional drama in the pictorial narration of the Gospel. The sculptural reliefs are created from this in order to better emphasize the glow of the soldiers' armor and the shine of the halos. One suspects here, too, that Gaudenzio is thinking about the Sacro Monte and about the way of reducing painting and sculpture to a synthesis.
Even the arrangement of the scenes - beginning with the great crucifixion - seem to anticipate the plans for the decorative apparatus of the chapels to be built above the rock face of Varallo.
The scenes on this large wall do not anticipate what Gaudenzio himself will realize at the Sacro Monte, but rather - in the eyes of the subsequent clients - become a kind of “programmatic manifesto” for the benefit of the artists who refer to it over time become. Take z. B. the prayer in the garden with the scene divided into two bands, the one with Jesus praying and the one with the asleep apostles: the same arrangement is faithfully adopted in the setting up of the statues of Giovanni d'Enrico; or note the “googly” figure in the ascent to Calvary , which is quoted almost literally by Tabacchetti in the chapel of the same name.
There is therefore a close relationship between the magnificent wall by Gaudenzio in the church of Santa Maria delle Grazie and the uniformity with which the work in the “great mountain theater” on the rock face above the church proceeded.
Other artistic testimonies in the church
The artistic interest in the church is of course concentrated on the Gaudenzio wall; but there are also other works there that are anything but negligible.
The two chapels below the large partition wall contain frescoes that bear further testimony to the artistic qualities of Gaudenzio and other painters, which are particularly important for understanding his artistic beginnings. It is the chapel of Santa Margherita , which Gaudenzio painted in front of the large wall with frescoes, namely 1507 with two evangelical scenes ( representation of Christ in the temple and Jesus with the Torah teachers ) and with grotesques , a picturesque genre in which Gaudenzio was outstanding.
On the right there is the Cappella delle Grazie chapel with frescoes by the Milanese School, which were probably created around 1491 (scenes of the Nativity of the Virgin , the Wedding of the Virgin and the Adoration of the Magi under the arches, figures of prophets ).
These are frescoes that are now attributed to the workshop of Giovanni Scotto, where - also according to an old testimony by Giovanni Paolo Lomazzo - Gaudenzio was an apprentice.
In the same chapel, above the altar, there is an exaggerated, newly painted wooden sculpture depicting the Madonna with the standing child on her knees : a very old icon that is highly regarded by popular folk worship.
Among the numerous works, on the left wall near the pulpit is a fresco by Fermo Stella, a student of Gaudenzio Ferrari with whom he worked on the Sacro Monte. It depicts a scene that is not often found in religious art, namely Jesus saying goodbye to his mother . The subject is a homily of St. Taken from John Chrysostom .
The statue of SM delle Grazie, wooden statue
Gaudenzio Ferrari, scene from The Life and Passion of Christ
Gaudenzio Ferrari, scene from The Life and Passion of Christ
Gaudenzio Ferrari, scene of the ascent to the Calvary
Gaudenzio Ferrari, scene of the Lamentation of Christ
Bottega di Giovanni Scotto, Adoration of the Magi , fresco, ca.1491
Fermo Stella, Jesus bid farewell to his mother , fresco
literature
- Alberto Bossi: La Chiesa di Santa Maria delle Grazie e la grande Parete Gaudenziana di Varallo. Tipografia di Borgosesia
- Giovanni Testori: Promemoria gaudenziano. In: Bollettino della Soc. Storica Piemontese d'Archeologia e Belle Art. VIII-IX, 1954–57
- Vittorio Viale: G. Ferrari. Ed. ERI, Turin 1969
- Edoardo Villata, Simone Baiocco: Gaudenzio Ferrari, Gerolamo Giovenone: un avvio e un percorso. Allemandi & C., Turin 2004
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Basilica di S. Maria delle Grazie on gcatholic.org
- ↑ A. Nova, I tramezzi in Lombardia fra XV e XVI secolo: scene della Passione e devozione francescana in: Silvana Editoriale, Milano "Il Francescanesimo in Lombardia storia e arte", 1983
- ^ Edoardo Villata, Simone Baiocco Gaudenzio Ferrari, Gerolamo Giovenone: un avvio e un percorso, Allemandi & C., Torino, 2004
Coordinates: 45 ° 49 ′ 3.2 ″ N , 8 ° 15 ′ 9.4 ″ E