Scuola CRETO-VENETA di inizio Quattrocento

Madonna and Child crowned by Angels with Saints Nicholas and John the Baptist (large upper panel) and the Baptism of Christ (central lower panel), St. George (lower right panel) slaying a dragon, and St. Demetrius (lower left panel) slaying a "Moor". Extremely rare tempera with gold background painted on panel Veneto-Cretan (or Cretan-Venetian) School of the early Fifteenth Century Price: €33,000.00 Measurements: height cm 60 – width cm 44 – average panel thickness: cm 2.3 A masterpiece of absolute museum value in perfect condition Critical essay and historical-artistic expertise by PROF. GIOVANNI MORSIANI The work, absolutely original and from a very early period, is a walnut panel painted in tempera on a gold background (divided into a larger upper panel and three smaller lower panels, the two lateral ones identical in size). It is an author's proof, quite complex in terms of historical-artistic conception and religious symbolism, which immediately fascinates the viewer's eye with the archaic and ancient atmosphere it creates, the mastery of the depiction, the miniaturistic and delicate detail of the figures, and the compositional harmony of the scene. A true art book "open on the past", which has miraculously traversed centuries and history, conceived, composed, and painted "on wood" by an anonymous master, whose articulated cultural formation appears here not only pictorial but also historical, philosophical, and religious. The work focuses, in the large upper panel, on the purest face of the "Virgin crowned by Angels", depicted with dark, "kohl-lined" eyes in the oriental style, a long and sharp nose, an olive complexion, and the smooth skin of a still-young woman, with a rich, oriental-style dress and finely emphasized drapery. The Virgin's right hand, with long, delicate, and tapered fingers, placed exactly below the blessing right hand of the Child (in the central position corresponding to the "golden barycenter" of the scene), presents and indicates the Son (according to the compositional styles that define the "Madonna Hodegetria", i.e., "she who shows the world the direction, the path of Truth and Life"), gently receiving him in her arms and holding him seated on her left knee. The "Child", with well-proportioned forms and a "mature" gaze, is captured in the act of raising his right hand to bless with the index and middle fingers joined, while in his left hand he presents a book (which symbolizes the Word of God, that "ego sum Via Veritas" which means "through me you come to the Truth, through me, if you have Faith, you can one day observe the True Face of God"). On the right of the painting we see "Saint John the Baptist", he who will have the task of baptizing Christ on the banks of the Jordan (as the lower panel of the work shows us). The Baptist is represented with his arms crossed over his chest, in adoration. The heavy drapery of the not-rich clothes indicates his poor origin and status as an ascetic. On the left of the painting, we can see the figure of "Saint Nicholas of Bari", here represented with episcopal vestments, without a mitre but with the book of Celestial Gifts symbolized by the coins imprinted on the book's cover, which he holds with his left hand and presents with his right. As we will see, he was bishop of Myra (now Demre), a city located in Lycia, a province of the Byzantine Empire, which is located in present-day Turkey. He is also known outside the Christian world because his figure gave rise to the myth of "Santa Claus" (or Klaus or Sankt Niklaus), and, starting from the last two centuries, "Father Christmas". He is also known in Italy as San Nicolò, and in the North-Eastern regions, he usually brings gifts on the night between December 5th and 6th. In the two lower panels, right and left, of equal size, we see two iconographic representations, respectively, of "Saint George" in the act of killing the dragon (the best-known iconography and later than the X-XI century) with the classic unsheathed lance that pierces the monster (left panel) and of "Saint Demetrius" killing a man (right panel), or "a Moor". Regarding the stories about Saint George, the saint was venerated simply as a soldier-martyr who had converted the infidel peoples. As for Saint Demetrius of Thessaloniki, the traditional image represents him, precisely, as a knight intent on piercing a man, the symbol of the "pagan persecutor and heresy". It is no coincidence that the two figures of Saint George and Saint Demetrius are both converging towards the larger central panel, protecting its most salient meaning: namely, the reunification of the two churches, the Eastern and the Western (represented here by the "Baptism of Christ"). The central panel, located below the Marian image, thus depicts the "Baptism of Christ". Saint John the Baptist, on the left, is depicted in the act of sprinkling water on Jesus' head, immersed almost to the waist in the water of the Jordan River. On the right, we see three Angels grouped together, of which the central one is only intuited by the presence of the halo, while the one closest to Jesus, with wings, is depicted in the act of offering Christ a cloth to dry him. This character is the Guardian Angel who, according to Christian tradition, begins to accompany us immediately after Baptism. Just above Christ's head, we notice a crescent moon of bright red color with three rays of light below in the shape of a "V" (symbolizing the Holy Trinity). The artist tells us in this way that it is the Holy Spirit hovering over the entire scene, with its "solar heat" that becomes "the Light of God that illuminates the world". The pictorial, mosaic, and sculptural representations of the "Madonna or Holy Virgin Hodegetria" are numerous and follow one another over the centuries from Byzantine Art to the 17th century. Of particular significance for the purpose of illuminating the work presented here with further knowledge is the "Madonna Hodegetria with Child", a 12th-13th century mosaic of late-Byzantine origin, still visible in the Crypt of the Basilica of San Marco in Venice. A work almost overlapping, in stylistic and artistic conception, with ours. To demonstrate the historical-artistic foundation of the already mentioned "Veneto-Cretan School". Notes to the Critical Essay The "Madonna Hodegetria", more correctly "Odegetria" (from the ancient Greek ὸδηγήτρια, i.e., "she who instructs", who "shows the direction"), otherwise also known as the Virgin Hodegetria, Theotókos Hodegetria, Panag[h]ía Hodegetria, and Madonna dell'Itria, is a type of Christian iconography widespread in particular in Byzantine, Veneto-Cretan, and Russian art of the medieval and late-medieval periods. The iconography consists of the Madonna with the Child Jesus in her arms seated in a blessing act holding a rolled parchment or a book, and the Virgin indicates him with her right hand (hence the origin of the epithet). Iconographic history: this figurative theme originates from the homonymous icon that represented, starting from the 5th century, one of the major objects of worship in Constantinople. According to hagiography, in fact, this relic would have been one of the Marian icons painted by the evangelist Luke that Elia Eudocia (Aelia Eudocia, circa 401-460), wife of Emperor Theodosius II, would have found in the Holy Land and translated to Byzantium. The icon was kept in the homonymous basilica that was built for the occasion by the sea, in a decentralized position compared to the complex consisting of the imperial palace, the circus, and the two churches of Hagia Sophia and Hagia Irene. The original icon, which was carried in solemn processions and during triumphs, was lost when Constantinople fell into the hands of the Ottomans in 1453. Some accounts - historically of dubious reliability - report that the icon was shattered, while it was being carried in procession, on May 28, 1453, exactly the day before the fall of the city that was undergoing the final siege by the army of Mehmed II. The cult of this icon was particularly popular: churches and places of worship are dedicated to it, especially in Greece and Southern Italy. The Baptism of Jesus in Christianity refers to the Baptism received by Jesus from John the Baptist, as narrated in the Gospel of Mark (1:9-11), the Gospel of Matthew (3:13-17), and the Gospel of Luke (3:21-22). The event is remembered as the first of the "Mysteries of Light" that make up the Holy Rosary. The feast of the baptism of Jesus is celebrated by the Catholic Church and the Anglican Church on the Sunday falling from January 7 to 13. Evangelical Accounts The Baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist is narrated in the synoptic gospels, while the Gospel of John presents the testimony of John the Baptist of the descent of the Holy Spirit on Jesus but does not speak of his baptism. The episode takes place within the activity of John the Baptist, who baptizes the people in the waters of the Jordan. In the Gospel of Mark Jesus travels from Nazareth (in Galilee) to the banks of the Jordan, where he is baptized by John the Baptist. Coming out of the water, he sees the heavens open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove, while a "Voice from Heaven" is heard saying "You are my beloved Son, in you I am well pleased". Also in the Gospel of Matthew Jesus goes from Galilee to the banks of the Jordan to be baptized by John; in this gospel, however, it is also narrated how John the Baptist tries to prevent him from saying "I need to be baptized by you and you come to me?", but Jesus convinces him by answering "Let it be so now, for it is fitting that we should fulfill all righteousness". As in Mark, also in Matthew Jesus, coming out of the waters, sees the sky open and the Spirit of God descending in the form of a dove, while a voice from heaven affirms "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased". In the Gospel of Luke "all the people" are baptized and Jesus also gets baptized; while he is gathered in prayer, the sky opens and the Holy Spirit descends upon him as a dove, while a heavenly voice says "You are my beloved son, in you I am well pleased". In the Gospel of John, however, there is no mention of Baptism, but only of the descent of the Spirit in the form of a dove or of "divine light" (see the table under examination). John the Baptist indeed bears witness by saying that the one who had sent him to baptize with water had warned him that the one on whom he would see the Spirit descend to remain would be the one who would baptize in Holy Spirit (instead of in water like John), and that he had seen the Spirit descend from heaven in the form of a dove on Jesus and had recognized him as the son of God. Interpretation There are important differences between the three accounts of the Gospels that indicate a different christology. On the one hand, the Baptism of Jesus must necessarily have a very different meaning and purpose from the baptism of John which was a baptism for the remission of sins. In fact, Jesus was without sin and therefore could not submit to an act that was a symbol of repentance. To John, who did not want to baptize him, Jesus said: "Let it be so, this time, since it is fitting that in this way we fulfill all that is right". Mt 3:15. On the other hand, the Baptism of Jesus is different from the current Christian sacrament. The latter mainly has the meaning of making the baptized a child of God and a member of the Church. And also to purify him of original sin. All four canonical gospels speak of the Baptism of Jesus Christ. Here is how the Gospel of Matthew presents it (3:13-17): "At that time Jesus went from Galilee to the Jordan to John to be baptized by him. As soon as he was baptized, Jesus came out of the water: and behold, the heavens were opened and he saw the Holy Spirit descending like a dove and coming upon him. And behold, a voice from heaven said: This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased". The Baptism of Jesus manifests his divine nature: the Son of God incarnate in human form has appeared in the world. This is the Epiphany. God appears at the same time under three hypostases: God-Son - Jesus, God-Holy Spirit - descended on Jesus in the form of a dove, God-Father - manifested himself through his voice. Here is the Epiphany of the Most Holy Trinity (Trinity "New Testament"). Here depicted by the "cosmic" rays in the shape of a "V". Having received Baptism, Jesus went into the desert and fasted there for forty days. And the devil tempted him three times. But Jesus overcame the temptations and, having returned to Galilee, began his teaching. "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me; for this he has anointed me, and has sent me to proclaim good news to the poor, to proclaim release to the prisoners and recovery of sight to the blind... (Lk 4:18). From this moment Jesus appears as Messiah (from the Hebrew mashijah - "anointed", in Greek "Christ"). He begins his great service.