AFAT 35

AFAT (Arte in Friuli Arte a Trieste) è una rivista scientifica annuale fondata nel 1975 presso l'Istituto di Storia dell’Arte dell’Università di Trieste, ora Dipartimento di Studi Umanistici. Nel corso degli anni, la rivista ha prestato, e presta, grande attenzione ai temi emergenti del dibattito storico artistico medievale, moderno e contemporaneo, pubblicando saggi che esplorano numerosi territori tematici. AFAT si propone di rendere disponibili alla comunità degli studiosi e a un più vasto pubblico interventi inediti (la cui redazione scritta è sottoposta a peer review) su temi inerenti l’arte veneziana e non solo, riuniti sia in volume a stampa (EUT Edizioni Università di Trieste), sia in formato elettronico e liberamente accessibili online.

The article publishes a number of eighteenth-century frescoes by Costantino Cedini and Giovanni Scajario, preserved in Venetian palaces, as well as drawings and sketches by these same artists. A final note concerns Giambattista Tiepolo and the frescoes in the Corner Palace in San Polo painted by Tiepolo in collaboration with Girolamo Mengozzi Colonna.

This article presents and analyses, for the first time in Italy, three unpublished works of Pietro Antonio Rotari: two drawings from the Museum of Art of Providence and the Nativity from the Stimmate Institute of Verona. These are important testimonies for the definition of some still unknown aspects about one of the most important painters of the Eighteenth century in Europe.

The polyptych of Montefiorentino is the first work by Alvise Vivarini, painted in 1476 and probably intended for the memorial chapel of the noble Oliva family; for a long time it was keept in the sacresty of the monastery’s church, into XX century when it is transferred to the Palazzo Ducale of Urbino. Many studies have emphasized the painter’s novelty, when compared to his family’s artistic tradition. As it has been pointed out, the figure of saint Francis on the far left was not attributed to Alvise himself, but first to his father Antonio (Zampetti 1950) and later to his father’s assistant (Steer 1982), who was only employed in the execution, and not in the creating of the drawing. However, it seems difficult to believe that an assistant participated in the work, signed by LVDOVICUS VIVARINVS, because of the weak pictorial quality, which allows us to question whether it was a modern copy or repainting.

The essay presents a not-well-known painting by Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller (1793-1865) already owned by Giovanni Guglielmo Sartorio (1789-1871) and then confluenced in the collections of the Fondazione Palazzo Coronini Cronberg in Gorizia. Waldmüller’s participation in exhibitions organized in Trieste in the 1840s is also explored.

In the second half of the seventeenth century the iconographic policy of Venice experiences a deep change: the civil portraiture replaces the symbolic image of the Republic. This change is clearly visible in the ‘Patria del Friuli’ by the analysis of Busts: the venetian koinè, exported in Friuli through the examples of Alessandro Vittoria, Francesco Segala and Giulio Del Moro, affects the works of some local sculptors as Girolamo Paleari and Lombardo del Sole. This production, which lasts for a century (1578-1682), is displayed by twenty-six Busts of venetian Lieutenants and Governors, allocated in the towns of Udine, Cividale del Friuli and Marano Lagunare. We can divide this production in two modes: a ‘Prima maniera’, subject of this contribution, whose strict and severe style combines an artistic influence from the venetian language with a local primitivism, datable between the Bust of Marco Corner (1578) in the Castle of Udine and the Bust of Nicolò Grandenigo (1620) on the Tower of Marano Lagunare; and a second mode, related to a baroque style, between the Monument to Nicolò Mocenigo (1643) inside the Loggia of Lionello in Udine and the Bust of Domenico Mocenigo (1682) in Cividale del Friuli.

The article adds a new work – an interesting altarpiece depicting Virgin and Child enthroned with Saint Dominic, a Bishop Saint and a female Saint kept in the church of Santa Maria Valverde in Padernello – to the catalogue of Carlo Innocenzo Carloni (1686/1687-1775). The painting comes from the sketch saved in the Pinacoteca Tosio Martinengo.

Negli ultimi tre decenni del Seicento il letterato Antonio Lupis pubblicò una nutrita serie di volumi, dove sovente si affacciano riferimenti alle arti figurative e ad alcuni artisti – soprattutto pittori – attivi in quegli anni, sia attraverso affermazioni generiche e riconducibili a esercizi retorici sia con precisi richiami a opere e a concrete questioni critiche. Infatti, in alcune pagine di Lupis, edite nel 1682 nella raccolta epistolare intitolata Dispaccio di Mercurio, possiamo leggere un vero e proprio elogio della scultura, il quale risulta di un certo interesse per l’originale collocazione nel secolare dibattito sul paragone tra le arti e soprattutto perché esso mira a celebrare un’esecuzione plastica in particolare: il monumento al doge Giovanni Pesaro nella basilica veneziana dei Frari, realizzato tra il 1665 ed il 1669 su progetto dell’architetto Baldassare Longhena con l’intervento di diversi scultori, tra i quali Melchior Barthel e Giusto Le Court, seguendo un raffinato programma iconografico elaborato da Emanuele Tesauro. Il monumento Pesaro rappresentò un punto di svolta per la cultura barocca veneziana e, dunque, non sorprende l’interesse accordatogli da un letterato come Lupis, intriso di quello stesso gusto e sensibilità.

The eleven drawings with trees at the Civico Museo Villa Sartorio, etched in pen and then watercoloured, date back to the second half of the 1730s; they represent a rare group of sheets without figures among Giambattista’s artworks. In both his pictorial and graphic production the construction of the scenes is often balanced on that kind of elements. Veronese, Tiziano, Salvator Rosa and Alessandro Magnasco influenced the Venetian painter to have a more classical, sometimes manneristic or imaginary vision of nature. This article includes some examples of what could be considered as his visual sources and it focuses on the collaboration with Giuliano Giampiccoli regarding some of the etchings in which he added the “macchiette”. These illustrations reproduce some landscapes by Marco Ricci, who was the artist from whom Tiepolo’s tree models arise. The after-effects on other contemporary painters are also mentioned, including a “vedutista d’eccezione” like Francesco Guardi, who seems to have known the same series of etchings engraved by Francesco Bartolozzi and that were printed in a later edition by Joseph Wagner.

Tommaso Ravenna, alias Rangone, alias Filologo, was one of the most influential persons in sixteenthcentury century Venice. In 1552 the doctor astrologist founded a boarding school in Padova, but the building was heavily damaged by a blaze in 1559 and finally destroyed in 1918. A hitherto unpublished document proves that Jacopo Sansovino, who had already been appointed by Ravenna on various other occasions, also designed a brick cornice implemented during the restoration of the building in 1560.

Cherubino Cornienti is undoubtedly one of the few great painters in the italian romantism (like Piccio, Mauro Conconi, Filippo Giuseppini). His international ‘milieu’ beetween Milan and Rome is testify by his friendship with russian master Karl Brjullov. The author rediscover a masterpiece by Cornienti realized in Rome after his apprentice in Milan, The Raising of Jairus Daughter.

Nella pieve di S. Maria di Tricesimo si conserva una pala d’altare raffigurante La presentazione di Gesù al tempio. Costituisce una delle più significative opere eseguite da Palma il Giovane per il Friuli. È firmata, ma per quanto riguarda la datazione si sono avute nel tempo valutazioni discordi: inediti documenti permettono ora di collocarne l’esecuzione al 1601-1602.

Paolo Veneziano and his workshop created three masterpieces for the island of Veglia: a) The Polyptych of Saint Lucy, today in Krk Bishop’s palace; b) Two Antependia. One of them is still preserved in its original site (Dobrinj). The other one travelled abroad long time ago, and today is displayed at the Victoria and Albert Museum, in London. There is no doubt that Paolo Veneziano’s workshop was commissioned to produce these three paintings, presumably during the fourth decade of XIV century, as proved by its iconographic and stylistic features. The Polyptych of Saint Lucy was made for the Benedictine Abbey of Iurandvor, near Baška. Its central panel shows Saint Lucy herself. Its side panels show eight episodes of her life. Top panels display the Crucifixion, the Annunciation and four Saints, including St Kvirin and St Gaudientius, of particular local significance. The Polyptych inspired a rich bibliography focused on its iconographic choices, stylistic patterns, technique of execution (in particular its stampings) and chronology. Both Antependia are made by red silk superbly intertwined with gold and argent. Typologically these two works are connected to the tradition of the Venetian polyptychs of the Trecento. They are made by venetian embroiderers, perhaps following preparatory drawnings by Marco Veneziano, Paolo’s brother. Our study focuses, therefore, on Paolo’s bottega, and its ‘familiar’ structure, based on Paolo’s father (Martino), his brother (Marco), and three sons (Luca, Giovanni, and Marco). Veneziano’s workshop monopolizes venetian painting during the whole first half of the Trecento. Its master oversees the ideation, design and execution of all works produced in his bottega. Finally, thanks to the documents still preserved at “Archivio Storico” of the “Soprintendenza di Trieste”, we trace the movements of the Polyptych during the first half of last century. It was in Wien (for restoration purposes) in 1913, in Venice (exhibition) in 1919, then at the “Museo Civico” of Trieste up to 1936, when it entered into the collections of Capodistria Museum. Then it was moved to Friuli (1940-1944) during the world war II as a precautionary measure, and it was finally returned to the Bishop of Krk by the High Command of German Occupation Army at the end of the war.

The paper presents some works by Pompeo Marchesi (Saltrio 1783 - Milano 1858) and two portraits by Giuseppe Molteni (Affori 1800 - Milano 1867) rediscovered in Austria and Bohemia.

Il dipinto 'Ritratto' di giovane signora con cane, firmato in basso a sinistra N. Schiavoni dip. di proprietà dei Civici Musei di Storia ed Arte, si mostra oggi nel suo aspetto originario, ma non fu sempre così e la sua storia appare lunga e travagliata. Difatti, il recente restauro ha messo in evidenza un'opera assai diversa. Le differenze più significative sono quelle che stravolgono l'aspetto dell'effigiata: l'incarnato di una tinta più chiara al punto da farla apparire pallida, i capelli meno folti e vaporosi che ne modificano il profilo, gli occhi decisamente più allungati e sottolineati da evidenti occhiaie sono tutti elementi che concorrono a convertire il 'Ritratto di giovane signora con cane', pacata e casta, in quello di una fanciulla ammiccante e maliziosa, che, forse proprio per l'audacia del suo contegno, fu tramutata per volere di un suo antico e castigato possessore.

The author investigates the reasons of the strong interest of Pope Sixtus V for aquiring the Palazzo della Torre, property of the Colonna family, belonging to the oldest aristocracy of Rome, even against the will of Cardinal Ascanio Colonna, who had inherited it from his father, the famous Marcantonio of the battle of Lepanto. Sixtus wished to give back the Palazzo to the Franciscan Convent of Santi Apostoli not only as a sign of his affection but mainly to accomplish a new urban project for the eastern part of Rome, from the hill of the Qurinale to the Piazza delle Terme, near his familiar Villa Peretti Montatlto.

Villa Pedrina, of the noble family Della Torre in Azzano Decimo (Pordenone) has been object of swift studies detailed on the succession acts of the various owners and on a relief of the building structure. Any analyses of the settlement and of the economical history is completely missing and very inadequate is a proper architectural and artistic study. This situation is due to the dispersion of the family archives (both of the Della Torre and their relatives Popaite), present today at the state Archive in Udine, at the Town Library in Udine and in Pordenone, not all of them inventoried or partially inventories. Led by past studies, the decorative monumental setup has been taken into consideration, one and only survived portion of the artistic heritage, including the names of the perspectival artist Pietro Antonio Torri (1689), as for the passageway hall, Gio.Battista Lazzarini (1740), as for the altarpiece in the noble chapel, Pietro Feltrin together with his more renowned master as for the background à grisaille, for the cupola and the choir.