PINTURICCHIO

This altarpiece, surrounded by a frame decorated with floral motifs and small capitals, forms the centre of the decorative program for the Chapel Della Rovere in Santa Maria del Popolo. Pinturicchio and Tiberio d’Assisi worked together to create the frescoes in the chapel which show events in the life of St Jerome.

The library vaulting, distinguished by its wealth of colour and figures, is one of the earliest surviving examples of a deliberate and very precise imitation of classical design. It has yet to be determined whether the figures and scenes incorporated into the picture compartments of the library vaulting represent some specific iconographic concept or simply arbitrary borrowings from classical models.

The decoration consists of grotesque decor, donor coats of arms, dedicatory inscription, allegorical and mythological scenes.

The picture shows a detail of the ceiling in the Sala dei Santi (Room of Saints). This section depicts the story of the Apis bull. The integration of this animal, venerated in ancient Egypt, into the decorative program of Alexander VI’s private apartment served as a mythical explanation for the presence of bull in the Borgia family coat-of-arms.

In this detail of the ceiling decoration the scene of the Rape of Persephone, and the allegorical figures of Caritas and Pax can be seen.

The most unusual painting in the chapel is the one of Jesus disputing with the scribes in the Temple, commonly known as Christ among the Doctors. This event is reckoned among the seven sorrows of the Virgin, and for that reason it is clear that the selection of scenes for the chapel was based on the fact that she served as its patron.

The debate takes place on a broad square in front of an imposing centric structure representing the Temple in Jerusalem, which is where the gospel of St Luke tells us the confrontation took place. The setting is reminiscent of Perugino’s depiction of Christ surrendering the keys to Peter in the Sistine Chapel.

Christ stands on the central axis of the composition, his books scattered on the pavement in front of him. By contrast, the richly dressed scholars either clutch their books close to their chests or read aloud from them.

Pinturicchio was another possible pupil, collaborator, and competitor of Perugino. His career skyrocketed in Rome where he was active on paintings such as this one for a local church, and where he was later hired by the reigning pope, Alexander VI.

The Bufalini Chapel frescoes in the Aracoeli require special mention because they are so characteristic of Pinturicchio and because they represent a high degree of accomplishment. He treats here a fairly new iconography, the life of St. Bernardine, who was coincidentally his name saint. The Death of St Bernardine has a spatial stage that opens out onto a deep, irregularly shaped piazza. The architecture throughout is thoroughly up-to-date and elegant, recalling Perugino’s treatment in Christ Handing the Keys to St. Peter from the Sistine Chapel. The arrangement of the figures is uncontrived, almost accidental, with subscenes scattered throughout in the receding planes. Incidental naturalistic detail offers visual amusement, with the landscape in the distance treated with particular effectiveness. Pinturicchio had few peers among his contemporaries in integrating bright diversified vistas with his figures.

The picture shows the entrance to the Piccolomini Library in the left aisle of the cathedral in Siena. The monumental fresco above the richly carved classical fa�ade depicts the coronation of the library’s donor, Francesco Todeschini-Piccolomini, as Pope Pius III. In the lunette above the portal the donor’s coat of arms as cardinal, in the right-hand lunette the papal coat of arms of his uncle Pius II can be seen.

On the vaulting of the chapel four enthroned sibyls are depicted. Their aedicula-like thrones differ only slightly from one another and fit nicely into the triangular vaulting compartments separated by broad ornamental bands. The texts of the sibyls’ prophecies, referring both to Mary an to her child, appear on the faces of flanking altars topped by triangular pediments and richly decorated with a classical decor of masks and festoons. A pair of eagles stands in front of each altar.

The composition of this drawing demonstrates changes as compared to the finished fresco in the Piccolomini Library. It is now thought to be the work of one of Pinturicchio’s collaborators reflecting an earlier design.

The picture shows the personification of Music in the Sala delle Arti in the Appartemento Borgia at the Vatican.

The tenth and last picture in the cycle is set in the Adriatic port of Ancona, a view of which takes up the right side of the background. On July 19, 1464 the ailing pope arrived in Ancona, where he was to await the Venetian fleet that would lead his crusade. he died there a week later. After his death the unpopular crusade was called off.

The cycle’s first three scenes, beginning with the one on the right wall closest to the windows, represent the initial phase of Enea Silvio Piccolomini’s secular career.

In the first compartment we see the twenty-seven-year-old Enea Silvio setting out in the train of Cardinal Domenico Capranica for the Council of Basel in 1431. Wearing a splendid traveling cloak, a fur collar, and a pilgrim’s hat, the young man sits on a white horse - an obvious allusion to his future stature, for white horses were reserved for popes.

The cycle’s first three scenes, beginning with the one on the right wall closest to the windows, represent the initial phase of Enea Silvio Piccolomini’s secular career.

In the first compartment we see the twenty-seven-year-old Enea Silvio setting out in the train of Cardinal Domenico Capranica for the Council of Basel in 1431. Wearing a splendid traveling cloak, a fur collar, and a pilgrim’s hat, the young man sits on a white horse - an obvious allusion to his future stature, for white horses were reserved for popes.

In contrast to Perugino, the mature Pinturicchio seems to have gained artistic strength rather than losing it, and his frescoes in the grandiose Piccolomini Library in Siena are masterpieces in his personal style. The narratives deal with the life of the Piccolomini family’s first pope, Pius II. Here the future Pope, Aeneas Silvius, is shown as a young man setting out for Basel. The preparatory drawing is often regarded as by Raphael, indicating the possibility of a rather remarkable collaboration.

In the fresco the elegant manner of Pinturicchio’s style is especially discernible in the central figure, that of the youthful Aeneas Silvius, heroically set upon a white horse placed obliquely in space. The lad turns sharply to face the spectator. His refined features and modish garments and the delicate hound, highbred and quivering, reflect a set of choices that can be traced back to artists like Pisanello and Sassetta in the previous generation. Seen through a high arch with decorative devices carried down from the folly articulated ceiling which Pinturicchio must have worked on first, the landscape takes up more than half the available space.

A special bonus is included, a tour de force and one not provided in the drawing: a storm at sea and a rainbow in the sky. These daring naturalistic inclusions are examples of the originality that crops up in this cycle. Significant stylistic breaks with his earlier works, however, do not occur.

The cycle’s first three scenes, beginning with the one on the right wall closest to the windows, represent the initial phase of Enea Silvio Piccolomini’s secular career.

The second scene is set at the court of the Scottish king in 1435. While in Basel, Enea Silvio was employed as a secretary by cardinal Albergati, who immediately dispatched him to the court of James I of Scotland. His job was to try to enlist the king as an ally against England, and at this he was unsuccessful. We see the ambassador in a long red cloak on the left, standing in front of the throne and gesturing in the typical pose of debate.

The cycle’s first three scenes, beginning with the one on the right wall closest to the windows, represent the initial phase of Enea Silvio Piccolomini’s secular career.

The third scene reminds us of the young Enea Silvio’s literary triumphs. In Frankfurt Frederick III had convened his first diet after having been crowned king of Germany. On July 27, 1442 Frederick himself crowned Piccolomini with a laurel wreath, presumably for the request of Enea Silvio.

The emperor places the wreath on the poet’s head in front of an especially ornate and theatrical architectural prospect. The many figures on the pink-paved square are clustered in casual groupings.

There is a distinct break in the narrative before the fourth scene. In 1445 Piccolomini suffered a major spiritual crisis, and he turned away from his secular way of life. He became interested in effecting some kind of compromise between the emperor and the pope. Frederick III sent him to the papal court to urge Eugenius IV to convene a new council, and Piccolomini took that opportunity to beg the pope to forgive him for having strayed from the faith. The pope is seated on an elevated throne, flanked by cardinals. Enea Silvio, dressed in a splendid gold robe, has thrown himself at his feet. In the background in the portico on the left, there is an additional scene: the rueful Enea Silvio is consecrated as a priest.

The narrow north wall of the library contains two scenes, the fifth and the sixth of the cycle. Enea Silvio was named bishop of Siena in September 1450, and in that new capacity, having arranged the marriage of Frederick III and Eleonora of Portugal, he introduced the two parties to each other in Siena in February 1452. This event is the subject of the fifth scene.

In the background of this scene a view of the city of Siena can be seen.

The narrow north wall of the library contains two scenes, the fifth and the sixth of the cycle. The sixth scene shows Pope Calixtus III Borgia anointing Enea Silvio a cardinal on December 17, 1456. In that same ceremony the pope’s nephew, Rodrigo Borgia - the later Pope Alexander VI - was elevated to the same dignity. The focus of the scene is the altar retable, a painting of the Madonna with Saints James and Andrew, the patron saints of the Piccolomini.

The seventh scene is on the first compartment of the east wall. Here we are presented with the major event in Enea Silvio’s life, his coronation as Pius II on September 3, 1458. The picture shows the ceremony in St. Peter’s, confirmed by the apse mosaic showing Christ standing between Peter and Paul.

The eighth scene depicts the Congress of Mantua which was convened by Pius II on June 26, 1459. There the pope sought to enlist the princes of Europe in a new crusade specifically against the Turks, who had conquered Constantinople in 1453.

The pope, engaged in debate with the patriarch of Constantinople, sits enthroned in profile on the right. The patriarch stands across from him, beyond the circle of seated cardinals. The foreground figures in Ottoman dress make it clear that this is the congress convened by Pius II on June 26, 1459. From his Commentarii we know that Pius II received various embassies in Mantua, from Cyprus, Rhodes, Lesbos, Albania, and Asia.

The ninth scene focuses on the canonization of Catherine of Siena in St. Peter’s on June 29, 1461. It was the high point of Pius II’s spiritual career. The occasion was a triumph for the Sienese, for they could now boast of a local female saint in addition to the popular Bernardino, who had been declared a saint only in 1450.

Pinturicchio was a successful portraitist, and there are a large number of portraits attributed to him. In these portraits he lacked the poetry of Perugino’s best works and the rigor and the genius of his fellow pupil, Raphael.

The sitter was formerly assumed to be the young Raphael.

Recently the attribution of this painting to an enigmatic painter called L’Ingegno (Andrea di Aloigi, or Andrea d’Assisi) has gained acceptance. A native of Assisi, he is said by biographer Giorgio Vasari to have been a fellow-pupil with Raphael under Perugino, and to have assisted the latter in the Collegio del Cambio at Perugia, at Assisi, and in the Sistine Chapel. Some figures of Moses Leaving to Egypt in the latter have been attributed to him. However, there are no signed or otherwise documented work by L’Ingegno, so any attribution to him remains uncertain.

In the period 1504-06 Pinturicchio accepted some smaller commissions in Siena, in addition to working in the Piccolomini Library. Among these commissions he painted scenes from the life of St John the Baptist in the Chapel of St John in the cathedral. Here he depicted the portrait of the donor, Alberto Aringhieri, in the habit of a knight of Malta.

Although this fresco in the Room of the Saints imitates the decorous poses and disposition of figures seen in the Sistine Chapel frescoes (Pinturicchio worked as Perugino’s assistant in the Sistine Chapel), the entire surface of the painting is elaborately patterned with different luxurious materials and further adorned with gold. Even the landscape takes on a decorative cast, with trees silhouetted against the sky. Their leaves are speckled with gold and provide both sparks of light on the surface and abstract patterns comparable to those on the costumes of the figures.

The scene in the Sala dei Santi (Room of Saints) depicting St Catherine’s disputation with the pagan philosophers before Emperor Maximilian is set against a classicising background.

The theme of Susanna and the Elders was particularly suited to Pinturicchio’s decorative sensibilities, resulting in a pleasing, fable-like environment for the biblical account. The two lecherous old men grab the maiden who stands in front of a fountain, the lower part of which is similar to that in the Baptistery of Siena. In the foreground are animals, including several rabbits, symbolic of lust.

The Adoration of the Shepherds on the end wall of the chapel presents idyllic scenery within a vast landscape and incorporates various secondary motifs. In the middle distance we see the annunciation to the shepherds, as a cluster of angels on a bank of cloud in front of the templelike stable sings of the birth of Christ. Of the many figures gathered in the foreground event of the adoration, the three shepherds stand out as being much too large, and with their crude, almost grimacing faces they are unlike anything else in Pinturicchio’s repertoire of figures. They were inspired by the Portinari Altarpiece by Hugo van der Goes. The Portinari Altarpiece and other imported works by Flemish masters had introduced the new style in Italy, however, no other Italian painter of his generation adopted its compositional principles so completely as did Pinturicchio.

The Annunciation on the left wall is dominated by the grandiose prospect of an arched corridor. No other Umbrian depictions of the Annunciation in this period present anything like this elaborate architecture or the vast landscape beyond. Pinturicchio set off the area of the foreground, in which the confrontation between the angel and the Virgin takes place, by narrow sections of wall on either side, each with a different structure. On the right the painter’s self-portrait hangs on the wall beneath a tall barred window; on the left there is a closed door with an off-centre oculus above. The white dove of the Holy Ghost descends along a diagonal ray of gold beamed down from the heaven of the cloud bank toward the Virgin on the right.

Pinturicchio’s fresco of the Annunciation was commissioned for a chapel in Spello, near Perugia. The fresco, with its myriad of details and subplots, is an example of Pinturicchio’s decorative style, so much admired in the nineteenth century. This scene betrays Pinturicchio’s knowledge of ancient Roman painting, as well as his awareness of the value of still-life. With a touch of ingenuity, he includes on the right wall his own portrait, emblazoned with his name, as a painting within the painting.

The detail shows the Angel of the Annunciation.

Beyond the gate and the garden wall with its elegant balusters - an iconographic allusion to the hortus conclusus - the actual background of the picture begins. It consists of a landscape of hills and tall cliffs dominated by the view of a city reminiscent of Spello. The two prominent city gates are remnants of Roman fortifications, and continue to dominate the Spello cityscape to this day. In front of these gates one sees a number of skirmishes between foot soldiers and attacking cavalry. Just beyond the garden gate is a roadside tavern with an arbour, beneath which a traveler, recognizable as such from his broad-brimmed hat, is being served while a groom leads his mount into the stable.

The artist included in the fresco his own portrait, emblazoned with his name, as a painting within the painting. What first catches the eye is the shelf just above it, on which books and other objects are arranged in the manner of a still-life. One of the books lies open. The white cloth draped decoratively across the front of the shelf casts a strong shadow on the wall, as do the candle and the wine carafe. These shadows presuppose some source of light from above and to the left, as do those of the two foreground figures.

Pinturicchio’s self-portrait was patterned after the one by Perugino in the Collegio del Cambio in Perugia, the painting which was completed shortly before Pinturicchio worked in Spello. The two portraits are indeed so very similar that it would seem that Pinturicchio wished to establish a definite link to that earlier work, possibly so as to document his status as the pupil of the famous Perugino

The artist included in the fresco his own portrait, emblazoned with his name, as a painting within the painting. What first catches the eye is the shelf just above it, on which books and other objects are arranged in the manner of a still-life. One of the books lies open. The white cloth draped decoratively across the front of the shelf casts a strong shadow on the wall, as do the candle and the wine carafe. These shadows presuppose some source of light from above and to the left, as do those of the two foreground figures.

The allegorical depiction of arithmetic, one of the liberal arts, is in the Sala delle Arti Liberali (Room of Liberal Arts) in the Borgia apartments. The room from which this view is taken was decorated on a theme of the seven liberal arts.

This fresco is on the entrance wall to the Piccolomini Library in the left aisle of the cathedral in Siena. It records an event that took place on October 8, 1503 in front of the old St Peter’s. The painter must have executed this work at the behest of the heirs, for the new pope died a mere ten days after the event depicted. The fresco was heavily overpainted in the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries, and it was restored in the 1960s.

This valuable small panel was painted by the young Pinturicchio and reflects his experience as a miniaturist. This master, like Perugino, was to have a great influence on Raphael. Formerly the painting was attributed to Raphael, Carlo Crivelli, and Perugino. Since the begining of the 20th century it is universally accepted as the work of Pinturicchio.

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This is a study for a scene of the fresco cycle in the Piccolomini Library in the Siena cathedral.

This panel was probably produced by the artist’s workshop.

The painting represents a scene from the Odysseia in an early Renaissance setting. It is severely damaged.

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There are a number of similar compositions in various collections. All these paintings date from the final quarter of the fifteenth century and reveal the emergence of the artists mature style. In the present painting the influence of Fiorenzo di Lorenzo is still apparent, although the pyramidal composition of the Virgin and Child is not unrelated to contemporary Florentine art, as evidenced by the works of Ghirlandaio and Verrocchio. The landscape remains wholly Umbrian in style.

The Virgin and Child was among a number of pictures that were given by Queen Victoria to the National Gallery, London, in 1863 in memory of the Prince Consort and in accordance with his wishes.

This painting represents a common type of Madonna representations in the Renaissance: the Madonna del latte, the Virgin Mary with one breast exposed and about to suckle the Infant Jesus. The influence of Perugino and the young Raphael is discernible in the picture. The landscape reflects the artist’s Umbrian origin. In the left background a small figure of the penitent St Jerome is visible.

The decorative skills of Pinturichio are apparent in the vault of this room he painted in the papal apartments of the Vatican. He accentuated the ribs of the vault and in doing so created strong framing elements within which he placed the scenes of the vault. Pinturichio filled all of the available surface with imagery, reserving the direct centre of the ceiling for the Borgia coat of arms. A later pope, Julius II, found serious objection to the decoration, and refused to live in the apartments.

The frescoes depict the myth of Isis and Osiris.

The decorative skills of Pinturichio are apparent in the vault of this room he painted in the papal apartments of the Vatican. He accentuated the ribs of the vault and in doing so created strong framing elements within which he placed the scenes of the vault. Pinturichio filled all of the available surface with imagery, reserving the direct centre of the ceiling for the Borgia coat of arms. A later pope, Julius II, found serious objection to the decoration, and refused to live in the apartments.

The frescoes depict the myth of Isis and Osiris.

In the centre the Coronation of the Virgin is depicted, in the picture compartments between the grotesque decorations evangelists and sibyls, in the spandrels church fathers enthroned can be seen.

The paintings in the Bufalini Chapel are the following. On the left wall: miracles of St Bernardino of Siena as a young hermit; funeral of St Bernardino with portraits of members of the Bufalini family. On the altar wall: the transfiguration of St Bernardino between Sts Louis of Toulouse and Anthony of Padua, with the resurrected Christ in the mandorla above accompanied by angels. In the vaulting: the four evangelists.

The picture shows the view from the entrance at the window wall of the library with the Piccolomini coat of arms and the north wall with the first three pictures in the cycle on the life of Enea Silvio Piccolomini.

The ten compartments are separated by painted pilasters with grotteschi decoration, while each individual scene is framed by illusionistic jambs and arches decorated with simulated red and white marble paneling. Wee seem to be looking through the arches of a gigantic loggia into scenes from Enea Silvio’s life. The pageant-like incidents display a panoply of colourful costumes against fanciful architectural or landscape backgrounds, except when a recognizable setting was required by the narrative.

The picture shows the view from the window wall of the entry wall with the scenes of the presentation of Frederick III to Eleonora of Portugal and Enea Silvio Piccolomini being elevated to cardinal.

Even before he built the library, Cardinal Francesco Todeschini-Piccolomini had acquired the collection of antiquities that had belonged to Prospero Colonna in Rome. One of the highlights of the collection was the famous marble group of the Three Graces. The cardinal later moved the group to the library in Siena.

The picture shows the view from the window wall of the entry wall with the scenes of the presentation of Frederick III to Eleonora of Portugal and Enea Silvio Piccolomini being elevated to cardinal.

The ten compartments are separated by painted pilasters with grotteschi decoration, while each individual scene is framed by illusionistic jambs and arches decorated with simulated red and white marble paneling. Wee seem to be looking through the arches of a gigantic loggia into scenes from Enea Silvio’s life. The pageant-like incidents display a panoply of colourful costumes against fanciful architectural or landscape backgrounds, except when a recognizable setting was required by the narrative.

Despite his considerable activity as a painter of large-scale altarpieces and frescoed decorative cycles, Pinturicchio also painted a number of smaller devotional works, of which the present panel is a fine example. The Virgin holds the Infant Christ, who, in turn, holds out a goldfinch - a common symbol of his forthcoming Passion.

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