Francesco Malcotto

Monumental Italian fresco from the early 18th century depicting Dominican Fathers of the Order by Francesco Malcotto, who created this painting for the Renaissance basilica of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan, the place where Leonardo Da Vinci painted his masterpiece, The Last Supper. This large fragment depicts 15 Dominican fathers arranged in two rows, the first kneeling and the second standing. In the foreground, a dog with a torch in its mouth, an attribute of Saint Dominic and the monastic order, two triple crowns (tiaras), one of which is enigmatically reclined, and a book. The friars, depicted with variations of skillfully nuanced and juxtaposed chromatic tones, are projected in the foreground with the characteristic tonsure, white robe, and black cloak, two bishops with miters on the left, and two popes with mozzettas in the foreground, Innocent V and Pius V. The author of the painting is Francesco Malcotto, who created this pictorial complex for the back wall of the apse of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan. In the early decades of the eighteenth century, the decoration of the apse was conceived in a unified manner, placing the large Resurrection of Christ by Melchiorre Gherardini on the back wall, flanked by two frescoes depicting saints of the Dominican order, arranged on several levels in the act of worshiping the deity in the center. Bibliography AA.VV. S.M. delle Grazie, Milan 1983, pp. 177-179. This decoration was completely removed during the renovation of 1935-1937. We have not been able to find much information about the author except that he worked at the convent of San Domenico in Cremona, in Palazzo Gallarati Scotti in Milan. The 'strappo' technique involves detaching only the color layer of the fresco from the wall by using animal glues placed on the canvas of the surface of the fresco to be detached. Once detached, it is placed on the canvas of the new support. The 'strappo' method allows for the recovery of the original sinopia if it exists. The operation often loses the deeper layers of color, resulting in a decrease in the coloristic intensity of the pictorial passage, which, when applied to the new support, ends up losing the original characteristics of the painting on plaster, giving it a more delicate appearance. This monumental antique painting measures 223 x 267 x 4 cm, comes from a private Lombard collection, and is in good condition. art.A1320