A masterpiece by Ambrogio da Fossano, known as Bergognone, is at the center of a small but important exhibition “Religious Love. Bergognone in Lodi”. The “Christ of Mercy with angels and a kneeling monk”, exhibited at the Maria Cosway Foundation, leads to a visit to the civic Temple of the Incoronata, in whose chapel four panels by Bergognone are still kept. “Cristo di Pietà” reveals the painter’s youthful training before his activity in the Certosa di Pavia. It is a table «very small, yes, in size, but enormous, due to the pulsations of affection and religious love» wrote Giovanni Testori. The widespread project is curated by Antonio Cottino and Monja Faraoni, promoted by the Municipality of Lodi, the Maria Cosway Foundation and the Community Foundation of the Province of Lodi, open until April 14, free admission. 500 years following his death, Lodi pays homage to Bergognone (1450 -1523) who worked in that area and who, with Vincenzo Foppa, represents the greatest Lombard painting before the arrival of Leonardo da Vinci. An in-depth study on the artist who, today more than ever, it deserves a monograph, the last exhibition dedicated to Bergognone dates back to 1998.
The young Ambrogio
“Christ of Mercy with angels and a kneeling monk” dating back to around 1480, comes from the Cagnola Art Collection, at Villa Cagnola in Gazzada Schianno Varese. The panel depicts Christ sitting on the tomb, his head bowed, his eyes closed, supported by five angels; in front of the tomb two grieving angels: one holds in his hands the pliers that removed the nails from the Crucifix, the other clutches the tunic that the soldiers drew lots for. On the left a kneeling Olivetan monk prays; in the background a Lombard landscape with towers and bell towers backlit. The exhibition also reconstructs the story of the original altar of the Incoronata, dismantled in 1729 and lost; on display are three wooden panels sculpted by Giovanni Ambrogio and Giovanni Pietro De Donati, part of the twelve that made up the altar; I am “Joachim’s Dream”; “Meeting at the Golden Gate” and the “Birth of the Virgin”. Also visible are Filippo Juvarra’s drawings for the Incoronata altar dated by Faraoni 1731 and preserved in the Laudense Municipal Library; the architect from Messina had been called to create a new altar but the collaboration was not successful due to the costs being too high. The deputies of the Scuola dell’Incoronata and Monte di Pietà preferred the project of the Piacenza Giovanni Battista Natali dating back to the period 1732-1739, the drawings are preserved in the Museo del Tesoro dell’Incoronata; the model of the altar was created by some students of the Callisto Piazza art high school who also collaborated on the setup. As evidence of the finished altar we find the etching, dated 1738, signed by Gaetano Bianchi of the Laudense Municipal Library.
The Civic Temple of the Incoronata
The last stop of the exhibition is the Incoronata where you can admire the four panels painted by Bergognone, which for conservation reasons cannot be moved but are visible in the Chapel of San Paolo. “The Annunciation” set inside the Virgin’s bedroom; “The Visitation” which narrates Mary’s meeting with her cousin Elizabeth and takes up some parts of the Lodi civic temple, such as the tripartite architrave and the high frieze. “The Adoration of the Magi and the Holy Family” is located on the left, under the roof of the ruined hut, while the three kings, wearing precious clothes, offer gifts to the Child in a riot of details and a great variety of characters. Finally, the “Presentation of Jesus at the Temple” set inside the Incoronata, and was fundamental for information on the first decorative phase of the church. Originally they were located on the side walls of the chapel of the main altar which was demolished at the end of the seventeenth century to create a new apse. On that occasion, Bergognone’s frescoes were destroyed, but fortunately the panels remain on the side walls, having been moved to the Chapel of San Paolo in the 19th century.
“Religious Love. Bergognone in Lodi”, Maria Cosway Foundation and Tempio dell’Incoronata, Lodi, until 14 April, curated by Antonio Cottino and Monja Faraoni
#Bergognones #religious #love #exhibition #Lodi
2024-03-22 10:50:10
