Altarpiece of St. Abbondio
Loading...
Authors
Giovan Angelo Del Maino
Date
Type
Image
Language
Keyword
St. Abbondio , Madonna and Child , St. Catherine of Alexandria , St. Lucy , Pietà , St. Sebastian
Alternative Title
Abstract
The enormous and splendid painted wood altarpiece (roughly the height of a 3-storey building) is still in its original church, the Cathedral of Como, but not in its original location within the church, which explains the somewhat awkward placement with the top of the altarpiece overlapping the window, which silhouettes the upper part of the altarpice and makes it difficult to photograph. St. Abbondio, who lived in the fifth century and was the third bishop of Como, is depicted in a large statue on the first main level, flanked by elaborate perspectival relief scenes of his life, above a predella with images of Christ and the apostles. On the second level are St. Catherine of Alexandra, the Madonna and Child with St. John the Baptist and God the Father, and St. Lucy, with smaller statues between them of Saints Proto, Roche, Sebastian, and Giacinto, and above them the Annuniction and Pietà , all framed with ornate and inventive classicizing architecture reminiscent of a triumphal arch, crowned with a a centrally-planned temple. Both angels and grotesque hybrid creatures appear at all levels, making the composition busy and lively, and the variation in scale, illusionistic perspective in the architecture, and play between monstrous ornamental motifs and Christian figures adds to the complexity and sophistication. Though undocumented, the work can be dated to circa 1509-14 and securely attributed to Giovan Angelo del Maino, who was documented to have made a similarly grand and complex altarpiece in Morbegno. The rich polychromy and gilding, which are harder to attribute, are well-preserved and were restored in 1988. The original wings that could be used to close this altarpiece (and then be opened to reveal the splendid sculptural work on feast days) were painted by Bernardino Luino (Adoration of the Magi and Adoration of the Shepherds) and Gaudenzio Ferrari (Marriage of the Virgin and Flight into Egypt) are preserved in the same church. It is possible that one of these painters also executed the polychromy on the sculpted parts of the altarpiece. Photograph(s) licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Description
Cathedral, Como
Citation
Raffaele Casciaro, La scultura lignea lombarda del Rinascimento (Milan: Skira, 2000), 161-5, cat. 124, pp. 152-61; Paolo Venturoli, "Famiglia Del Maino," in Studi sulla scultura lignea lombarda tra quattro e cinquecento (Turin: Umberto Allemandi & C., 2005), 58; "L'Ancona di Sant'Abbondio nella Cattedrale di Como," included in the collection: Artisti, architetti, artigiani nella Cattedrale di Como: Seicento anni di opere raccontano la continuità della fede, l'evoluzione dell'arte, il corso della storia (Como: Maspero Fontana e C. S.p.A.-Cermenate, 1996).