Angels, cherubs, apostles, and the Virgin Mary of the Assumption (dome)
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Authors
Pompeo Bianchi, Giuseppe Bianchi, and Domenico Fontana di Muggiò
Date
Type
Image
Language
Keyword
Angels , Mary , Assumption , Apostles , Flowers , Fruit
Alternative Title
Abstract
The Sanctuary of the Madonna di Tirano, built in response to a miraculous vision, was and is the greatest centre of devotion in the Valtellina (a zone in the mountains of northern Lombardy, very close to the Swiss border), and many come here seeking miracles, as attested by the numerous votive offerings displayed in the basilica. The richly sculpted stucco ornaments that cover the interior attest to this continuing devotion and desire to honour such an important site. The stucco sculptures inside the dome (1590-3) were carried out under the direction of Pompeo Bianchi. Flowers and fruit proliferate, as appropriate in a church dedicated to Mary, who was both a virgin (as often symbolized by white flowers) and yet fertile. Cherub heads and fully three-dimensional sculptures of baby angels complete the scheme. On the drum below, there are more stucco sculptures: the apostles sitting in niches and a sculpture of the Virgin Mary being assumed into Heaven, surrounded by more angels and rays of light. (The sculpture of Mary seems to be slightly later, perhaps early seventeenth century.) Below these, in the triangular pendentives that support the drum and dome, are large stucco angels, carried out by Pompeo's son Giuseppe and with Domenico Fontana. The sculptures are done in stucco (a type of plaster), an ancient Roman medium for sculpture and architectural ornament that was revived in the Renaissance. Fourteenth and fifteenth-century stucco sculptures are generally fully polychromed, but these are mostly white, with partial gilding and paint to enliven the figures and make them more legible from the floor far below. These are no longer babies, but shown as young adults, wearing vaguely classical drapery, with slits in the skirts to reveal their legs. Angels, in Catholic theology, are understood to be pure spirit, without a body, and neither male nor female, and so there was a great deal of license in depicting them. The sculptures are done in stucco (a type of plaster), an ancient Roman medium for sculpture and architectural ornament that was revived in the Renaissance. Fourteenth and fifteenth-century stucco sculptures are generally fully polychromed, but these are mostly white, with partial gilding and paint to enliven the figures and make them more legible from the floor far below. Photograph(s) licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Description
Santuario della Madonna, Tirano
Citation
Gianluigi Garbellini, La Madonna di Tirano: Monumento di fede, di arte, e di storia, 118-22; Raffaelle Casciaro, Il Santuario della Madonna di Tirano nella Valtellina nel cinquecento (1996), p. 71.