The ''Baronci Altarpiece'' was a

painting Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and a ...

by the

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

High Renaissance In art history, the High Renaissance was a short period of the most exceptional artistic production in the Italian states, particularly Rome, capital of the Papal States, and in Florence, during the Italian Renaissance. Most art historians stat ...

artist

Raphael Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, better known as Raphael (; or ; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. His work is admired for its clarity of form, ease of composition, and visual ...

. His first recorded commission, it was made for Andrea Baronci's chapel in the church of Sant'Agostino in

Città di Castello Città di Castello (); "Castle Town") is a city and '' comune'' in the province of Perugia, in the northern part of Umbria. It is situated on a slope of the Apennines, on the flood plain along the upper part of the river Tiber. The city is north o ...

, near

Urbino Urbino ( ; ; Romagnol: ''Urbìn'') is a walled city in the Marche region of Italy, south-west of Pesaro, a World Heritage Site notable for a remarkable historical legacy of independent Renaissance culture, especially under the patronage of F ...

. The

altarpiece An altarpiece is an artwork such as a painting, sculpture or relief representing a religious subject made for placing at the back of or behind the altar of a Christian church. Though most commonly used for a single work of art such as a painting ...

was seriously damaged during an earthquake in 1789, and since 1849 fragments of the original painting have been part of different collections.

History

On December 10, 1500, Raphael and Evangelista da Pian di Meleto, an older painter from the workshop of Raphael's father

Giovanni Santi Giovanni Santi (c. 1435 – 1 August 1494) was an Italian painter, decorator, and the father of Raphael. He was born in 1435 at Colbordolo in the Duchy of Urbino. He studied under Piero della Francesca and was influenced by Fiorenzo di Lorenz ...

, received the commission to paint jointly a large altarpiece dedicated to

Saint Nicholas of Tolentino Nicholas of Tolentino ( la, S. Nicolaus de Tolentino, (c. 1246September 10, 1305), known as the ''Patron of Holy Souls'', was an Italian saint and mystic. He is particularly invoked as an advocate for the souls in Purgatory, especially during ...

, for the Baronci chapel in the Sant'Agostino Church in

. In the documents Raphael, not his collaborator, is referred to as ''magister'' ("master"). The work on the paintings was completed on September 13, 1501. In the center of the painting

Nicholas of Tolentino Nicholas of Tolentino ( la, S. Nicolaus de Tolentino, (c. 1246September 10, 1305), known as the ''Patron of Holy Souls'', was an Italian saint and mystic. He is particularly invoked as an advocate for the souls in Purgatory, especially during ...

stood in an archway, with the devil at his feet. Next to him were three angels. Above him

God the Father God the Father is a title given to God in Christianity. In mainstream trinity, trinitarian Christianity, God the Father is regarded as the first person of the Trinity, followed by the second person, God the Son Jesus Christ, and the third pers ...

was placed with a crown in his hand, and surrounded by the heads of angels. On his left the

Blessed Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother ...

and

Saint Augustine Augustine of Hippo ( , ; la, Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430), also known as Saint Augustine, was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Afr ...

were painted. During a heavy earthquake in 1789 the painting was damaged so severely that it was decided to saw it into pieces and display only the undamaged parts. In the same year, the fragments were acquired by

Pope Pius VI Pope Pius VI ( it, Pio VI; born Count Giovanni Angelo Braschi, 25 December 171729 August 1799) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 15 February 1775 to his death in August 1799. Pius VI condemned the French Revoluti ...

for the collections of the Vatican, where they remained until 1849. It is unclear what happened to them after that. Only many years later scholars were able to trace back six different pieces, four fragments of the main painting and two

predella In art a predella (plural predelle) is the lowest part of an altarpiece, sometimes forming a platform or step, and the painting or sculpture along it, at the bottom of an altarpiece, sometimes with a single much larger main scene above, but oft ...

s, which had become part of different collections."Only in 1912 did Oskar Fischel identify the hitherto few remaining scattered pieces of the original altarpiece thanks to a precise description by the Italian art historian

Luigi Lanzi Luigi Lanzi (14 June 1732 – 30 March 1810) was an Italian art historian and archaeologist. When he died he was buried in the church of the Santa Croce at Florence by the side of Michelangelo. Biography Born in Treia, Lanzi was educated as ...

in his ''Storia pittorica dell Italia'' (1796)." La Malfa, Claudia, ''Raphael and the Antique'', Reaktion Books, 2020, pp. 27- 28. An impression of the complete work is given by an 18th-century copy in the Pinacoteca Comunale, Città di Castello. However, this lacks some surviving elements, in particular the

now in Naples. Preliminary sketches by Raphael can be found in the Palais des Beaux-Arts de Lille,

Lille Lille ( , ; nl, Rijsel ; pcd, Lile; vls, Rysel) is a city in the northern part of France, in French Flanders. On the river Deûle, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France region, the prefecture of the No ...

and the

Ashmolean Museum The Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology () on Beaumont Street, Oxford, England, is Britain's first public museum. Its first building was erected in 1678–1683 to house the cabinet of curiosities that Elias Ashmole gave to the University o ...

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, which also differ from the composition in the copy.. On the basis of these drawings it is assumed that the design of the altar was entirely Raphael's work, whereas in the execution he was joined by Evangelista da Pian di Meleto. While Raphael probably painted the altarpiece itself, the predellas are attributed to Pian di Meleto.

Surviving fragments

Raffaello Angelo 1 (frammento pala Baronci).jpg, ''Angel'' (31 x 27 cm.,

Pinacoteca Tosio Martinengo The Pinacoteca Tosio Martinengo is a public art museum in Brescia, Lombardy. Established in 1851, the museum exhibits mainly paintings by local artists dated from the Thirteenth through the Eighteenth century. The museum's current collection in ...

, Brescia) Raffaello Angelo 2 (frammento pala Baronci).jpg, ''Angel Holding a Phylactery'' (57 x 36 cm.,

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the '' Venus de Milo''. A central ...

, Paris) Raffaello, God the Father and the Virgin Mary.jpg, ''God the Father'' (112 x 75 cm.) and the ''Virgin Mary'' (51 x 41 cm.) (

Museo di Capodimonte Museo di Capodimonte is an art museum located in the Palace of Capodimonte, a grand Bourbon palazzo in Naples, Italy. The museum is the prime repository of Neapolitan painting and decorative art, with several important works from other Italia ...

, Naples) Raffaello, disegno preparatorio per la pala baronci, lilla, musee des beaux-arts.jpg, Study ( Palais des Beaux-Arts de Lille) Raffaello, disegno preparatorio per la pala baronci, oxford, ashmolean museum.jpg, Study (

, Oxford) Raffaello, Nicola da Tolentino resuscita due colombe, 29,2x54 cm, Detroit, Detroit Institute of Arts.jpg, ''Saint

Reviving Two Partridges'' (29.2 x 54.0 cm.,

Detroit Institute of Arts The Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA), located in Midtown Detroit, Michigan, has one of the largest and most significant art collections in the United States. With over 100 galleries, it covers with a major renovation and expansion project comple ...

) Raffaello, Nicola da Tolentino soccorre un fanciullo che annega, 26,7x51,8 cm, Detroit, Detroit Institute of Arts.jpg, ''Saint Nicholas of Tolentino Rescuing a Boy from Drowning''. (26.7 x 51.8 cm.,

)

References

''Based on the article from the German Wikipedia, which in turn gives as its sources'': * *

External links

Predellas attributed to the Circle of Perugino in the DIA's collection
* {{authority control 1501 paintings Paintings by Raphael Paintings in the Louvre by Italian artists Paintings in the collection of the Museo di Capodimonte Paintings in the collection of the Pinacoteca Tosio Martinengo Angels in art Altarpieces Paintings of the Virgin Mary Books in art Paintings of Augustine of Hippo

History

Surviving fragments

See also

References

External links