Castelfranco Madonna
Encyclopedia
The Madonna and Child Between St. Francis and St. Nicasius, also known as Castelfranco Madonna, is a painting by the Italian
Renaissance
artist Giorgione
executed around 1503. It is housed in the Cathedral of Castelfranco Veneto
, Giorgione's native city, in Veneto
, northern Italy
.
The work has suffered bad restorations in the past centuries, and was stolen on December 10, 1972. After being recovered, it was accurately restored in 2002-2003 by the Accademia Laboratories in Venice and displayed in the major exhibition Le maraviglie dell'arte, before being returned to its home in Castelfranco in the December of 2005.
with St. Nicasius to the left. The armored figure has also been identified as the fighting saint St. George or St. Liberalis, patron of Castelfranco. Tuzio was a member of the Knights of Rhodes
, whose ensign is borne by St. Nicasius (a martyred saint who had also belonged to the Hospitallier order). The traditional scheme of composition is lightened by the novel use of such elements as the throne and the landscape, which takes up a good portion of the background. Noteworthy is also the absence of any reference to ecclesiastical elements of architecture.
The technique of painting is an example of what Vasari
called pittura sanza disegno (painting without drawing). This was a new approach to painting which revolutionised the Venetian school and is famously used in The Tempest
. Titian
, a pupil of Giorgione, later became one of the most important exponents of this style. The figure of St. John is very similar to that in Giovanni Bellini
's San Giobbe Altarpiece
(c. 1487).
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
artist Giorgione
Giorgione
Giorgione was a Venetian painter of the High Renaissance in Venice, whose career was cut off by his death at a little over thirty. Giorgione is known for the elusive poetic quality of his work, though only about six surviving paintings are acknowledged for certain to be his work...
executed around 1503. It is housed in the Cathedral of Castelfranco Veneto
Castelfranco Veneto
Castelfranco Veneto is a town and comune of Veneto, northern Italy, in the province of Treviso, 30 km by rail from the town of Treviso. It is approximately 40 km inland from Venice.-History:...
, Giorgione's native city, in Veneto
Veneto
Veneto is one of the 20 regions of Italy. Its population is about 5 million, ranking 5th in Italy.Veneto had been for more than a millennium an independent state, the Republic of Venice, until it was eventually annexed by Italy in 1866 after brief Austrian and French rule...
, northern Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
.
History
The altarpiece was commissioned by the condottiero Tuzio Costanzo in memory of his son Matteo, who died of a fever whilst serving the Republic of Venice, in 1503/4 or 1500. Also commissioned was a family chapel, containing the tombs of Matteo and Tuzio, built into the walls on either side of the painting. The church was subsequently demolished and replaced with the Cathedral of Castelfranco in 1724. The new building, which remains today, contains a small chapel housing the painting and the tomb of Matteo directly below. The Costanzo coat of arms, three pairs of ribs, can be seen on the base of the Virgin's throne and on the tomb. (Some scholars have speculated that St. Nicasius himself is actually a portrait of Matteo).The work has suffered bad restorations in the past centuries, and was stolen on December 10, 1972. After being recovered, it was accurately restored in 2002-2003 by the Accademia Laboratories in Venice and displayed in the major exhibition Le maraviglie dell'arte, before being returned to its home in Castelfranco in the December of 2005.
Description
The picture is a typical Holy Conversation and shows the Madonna enthroned with the Child with St. FrancisFrancis of Assisi
Saint Francis of Assisi was an Italian Catholic friar and preacher. He founded the men's Franciscan Order, the women’s Order of St. Clare, and the lay Third Order of Saint Francis. St...
with St. Nicasius to the left. The armored figure has also been identified as the fighting saint St. George or St. Liberalis, patron of Castelfranco. Tuzio was a member of the Knights of Rhodes
Knights Hospitaller
The Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta , also known as the Sovereign Military Order of Malta , Order of Malta or Knights of Malta, is a Roman Catholic lay religious order, traditionally of military, chivalrous, noble nature. It is the world's...
, whose ensign is borne by St. Nicasius (a martyred saint who had also belonged to the Hospitallier order). The traditional scheme of composition is lightened by the novel use of such elements as the throne and the landscape, which takes up a good portion of the background. Noteworthy is also the absence of any reference to ecclesiastical elements of architecture.
The technique of painting is an example of what Vasari
Giorgio Vasari
Giorgio Vasari was an Italian painter, writer, historian, and architect, who is famous today for his biographies of Italian artists, considered the ideological foundation of art-historical writing.-Biography:...
called pittura sanza disegno (painting without drawing). This was a new approach to painting which revolutionised the Venetian school and is famously used in The Tempest
The Tempest (painting)
The Tempest is a famous Renaissance painting by Italian master Giorgione dated between 1506 and 1508. Originally commissioned by the Venetian noble Gabriele Vendramin, the painting is housed in the Gallerie dell'Accademia of Venice, Italy.-Overview:On the right a woman sits, suckling a baby. She...
. Titian
Titian
Tiziano Vecelli or Tiziano Vecellio Tiziano Vecelli or Tiziano Vecellio Tiziano Vecelli or Tiziano Vecellio (c. 1488/1490 – 27 August 1576 better known as Titian was an Italian painter, the most important member of the 16th-century Venetian school. He was born in Pieve di Cadore, near...
, a pupil of Giorgione, later became one of the most important exponents of this style. The figure of St. John is very similar to that in Giovanni Bellini
Giovanni Bellini
Giovanni Bellini was an Italian Renaissance painter, probably the best known of the Bellini family of Venetian painters. His father was Jacopo Bellini, his brother was Gentile Bellini, and his brother-in-law was Andrea Mantegna. He is considered to have revolutionized Venetian painting, moving it...
's San Giobbe Altarpiece
San Giobbe Altarpiece
The San Giobbe Altarpiece is a c. 1487 oil painting by the Italian Renaissance master Giovanni Bellini, now in the Accademia Gallery in Venice.-History:...
(c. 1487).