“La piaga che Maria richiuse e unse”. More on the mural paintings by Ambrogio Lorenzetti in the chapel of San Galgano on Monte Siepi

Roberto Bartalini
The moving back of the date of the cycle of mural paintings in the chapel adjoining the round church of San Galgano on Monte Siepi (which we now know were executed by Ambrogio Lorenzetti in 1334-1336) and confirmation of the identity of the chapel's donor (the Cistercian oblate Ristoro d'Orlando da Selvatella) allow us to reconsider the very nature of the Montesiepi cycle in a new light. Contrary to what has long been assumed, it should not be interpreted in the light of the last will and testament of a layman concerned about his own spiritual destiny, but rather in the context of the patronage (and spirituality) of the Cistercian monks. In addition to the painter's iconographic and stylistic experimentation, what emerges clearly from this new analysis of the cycle is that it is based on the integration of some important parts of the hagiography of Saint Galgano within the framework – which remains dominant – of the exaltation of the Virgin Mary as co-redeemer and Regina Coeli, therefore in line with the thinking of the leading Cistercian scholar, Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, and his followers. In the creation of the paintings of Montesiepi other influences were also decisive, such as the Marian laude, or sacred songs, that had been adopted within lay confraternities. Certain unprecedented iconographic expressions – it has been known for some time – were rejected by the Cistercian community, which a short time after the completion of the paintings had them modified by another painter. These were interventions – it is argued in the present essay – which had the precise function of making the meaning behind the cycle even more explicit.

Index

Lorenzo Miletti, Stefania Tuccinardi A poetical celebration of the Cortile delle Statue and the 'Cleopatra' in the Vatican: Aurelio Serena da Monopoli
read abstract » pag. 3-19
Roberto Bartalini “La piaga che Maria richiuse e unse”. More on the mural paintings by Ambrogio Lorenzetti in the chapel of San Galgano on Monte Siepi
read abstract » pag. 20-31
Cristiana Pasqualetti New light on Calderini Pontifical and manuscript decoration between L'Aquila and Rome during the Great Schism (with a mention of Zacara da Teramo, “scriptore et miniatore”)
read abstract » pag. 32-59
Silvia Paltineri A group of figure-decorated situlas from the Este area dating from the 5th-4th century BC. A possible interpretation
read abstract » pag. 60-68
Antonio Mazzotta More Venetian 'portraits' for Antonello, Jacometto and Andrea Previtali
read abstract » pag. 69-91
Cristina Conti Perino del Vaga and the 'Lamentation of Christ' in Santo Stefano del Cacco: a proposed dating
read abstract » pag. 92-95
Camilla Colzani Pellegrino Tibaldi and the painting of the Sala Regia in the Vatican: documents and drawings
read abstract » pag. 96-99
Giuseppe Porzio Ribera around 1625: a new 'Saint Francis'
read abstract » pag. 100-104
Gennaro De Luca The poet Giorgio Maria Rapparini and the arts at the Palatine court of Düsseldorf
read abstract » pag. 105-121
Stefania Castellana An incursion into the workshop of Sagrestani: Giuseppe Moriani and the 'Martyrdom of Saint Andrew' in the church of the Mantellate in Florence
read abstract » pag. 122-133
Elisa Bruttini “Antichità, e altre galanterie diverse”. The rudite collector Giovan Girolamo Carli
read abstract » pp.. 134-141
Nicol M. Mocchi The Austro-German model for Italian painters in the age of Symbolism:hypotheses of visual appropriation
read abstract » pag. 142-165
Annamaria Petrioli Tofani Mario Di Giampaolo: in memoriam
read abstract » pag. 166-172
Victor M. Schmidt Review of Guariento
read abstract » pag. 173-179
Eliana Carrara Review of Le postille di padre Sebastiano Resta ai due esemplari delle «Vite» di Giorgio Vasari nella Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana and Le Postille di Padre Resta alle «Vite» di Baglione. Omaggio a Simonetta Prosperi Valenti Rodinò
read abstract » pag. 180-181