Annunciation
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Authors
Altobello Persio, circle of, or unknown artist known as the Master of the Madonna of San Benedetto
Date
Type
Image
Language
Keyword
Annunciation , Mary , Virgin , Gabriel , angel
Alternative Title
Abstract
These sculptures of the Archangel Gabriel and the Virgin Mary, which form an Annunciation scene, are made of limestone. Paint and gilding survives on both sculptures, but some of the paint has clearly been lost, as both Mary and Gabriel now stare with blank, pupil less eyes, and Mary's head-wrap is the same bare stone as her flesh. Mary's kneeler is classically-inspired, decorated with a profile head wearing a winged helmet surrounded by a wreath that is surely based upon an ancient medal or cameo. Mary's dress, with the slashed sleeves revealing the white under-dress beneath, is closer to Renaissance clothing. Mary's head wrap or turban is more unusual -- usually, Mary's hair would be partially hidden by a long loose veil, which falls upon the shoulders. This head covering could perhaps be a reference to Mary's Judaism, thus emphasizing the continuity between the two traditions. The forms of both figures are stylized to the point of geometric abstraction, particularly in the striated locks of Gabriel's hair, but also have a fleshy weight that ties them to a more earth-bound reality. Scholars have suggested that these sculptures could have been made by the same sculptor who made the Madonna and Child in San Benedetto in Brindisi. Others have pointed to similarities with the work of Altobello Persio, suggesting that the sculpture could be made by one of his pupils or even by the young Altobello himself. The classicism of these works is certainly consonant with Altobello's style. Altobello also lived next to the patron of these sculptures, Don Antonello de Angelis. These photographs were taken when the work was in an exhibition at the Palazzo Lanfranchi in Matera in 2019. Currently housed in the Museo nazionale d'arte medievale e moderna della Basilicata in Matera, these sculptures were made for the Chapel of the Annunciation in San Pietro Caveoso in Matera. Photograph(s) licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Description
Museo nazionale d'arte medievale e moderna della Basilicata, Matera; San Pietro Caveoso, Matera
Citation
Clara Gelao, Stefano da Putignano ""virtuoso"" scultore del rinascimento (Bari: Mario Adda, 2020), 207; Dora Catalano, Matteo Ceriana, Pierluigi Leone de Castris, and Marta Ragozzino, Il rinascimento visto dal sud: Materia, l'Italia meridionale e il Mediterraneo tra '400 e '500, exh. cat. (Matera: Palazzo Lanfranchi, 2019), cat. 9.8 pp. 491-2.