MASP

By Luciano Migliaccio
The figure of God the Father is a fragment derived from a larger composition. The image of the benevolent Eternal One is frequently seen on the cymatia of altars or on the finishing of mortuary memorials. The figure’s downward gaze, probably focused on the figure of the deceased or on a Madonna and Child, confirms that the fragment was placed in a high position. The main viewpoint of the statue is frontal, with secondary sightings from the other three quarters, but it is not meant to be seen in profile. Nevertheless, the back of the statue has some finishing, although not at all elaborate. This leads one to speculate that at least the upper part of the rear drapery was visible. The fragment is, therefore, unlikely to have come from a mortuary monument, where it is more usual to find a relief or a figure reclined against the wall. It is more probable that the work was part of an altar placed at the center of a choir, as found in churches serving monastic orders. The poor quality of the marble and the exis- tence of a cavity over the left shoulder, which might have been filled with plaster in the past, seem to indicate a positioning at a certain distance from viewers’ eyes. Over the head, a few holes can be observed, perhaps meant for a halo made of wood or of gilded metal. The work was first presented in the catalogue of the Mostra di Antiche Sculpture Italiane (Exhibition of Ancient Italian Sculpture), which took place in Rome in 1945. In the foreword mentioned in the Masp’s inventory record, Luigi Grassi offered the following comments: “Influences of the art of Leonardo and Michelangelo, illustrated by a more pictorial rather than plastic interpretation, can be seen in this sculpture, which may date back to the first years of the 16th century. The sculptor, who is prob- ably Tuscan, is studied in connection with the school of Andrea Sansovino”. The stylistic interpretation indicates several major points to be analyzed. The Masp’s God the Father is surely directly relat- ed to the one placed by Andrea Sansovino at the cymatia of the Sforza and Basso Della Rovere monuments in Santa Maria del Popolo. However, when compared to the Roman hieratic figures, this one seems to have been developed in a more modern direction, very close to Jacopo Sansovino’s Saint Giacomo in Florence Cathedral. Michelangelo’s influence shows in the exalted attitude but the sculptor is far from achieving the Florentine master’s dra- matic effect. The equivalent to the Michelangelean spirals is presented here in an attenuated version. The spiraled draperies swirl dizzyingly around the figure but the pose of the body does not seem to be affected: it is as if the life of the figure were condensed in the outstandingly inventive drapery. Swirling around the tor- so, the spiraled drapery seems to take off behind the shoulders, as if swept by the wind, forming an elaborate set of diagonals with the head and the right arm. The folds of the robe seem to support the fragile anatomy of the old man, stooped under the burden of the years and of some painful secret, while resting imperiously on the cosmic globe. The bearded figure bears traces of Leonardo’s influence, as does the elaborate luminous treatment of the surface. Here, one might add a reference to Raphael, which would explain some of the facial features and the very pictorial handling given to the sculpture, conceived in close relationship with architecture. Finally, the figure retains a certain Quattrocento flavor with regard to its anatomy and attitude, which evidences the author’s admiration for the Florentine sculptural models of the end of the previous century. The St. John Evangelist of the altarpiece of the Annunciation, by Benedetto da Maiano, in Santa Maria de Monteoliveto in Naples, presents the same rhythm, the pose achieved by interceptions and interruptions, the graceful anatomy with all its power seeming to be concentrated in the gesture of the hand clutching the robe. The animation of the drapery is a legacy of the plastic art of Antonio Rosselino. These characteristics would confirm that the author, although strongly influenced by Tuscan culture, does not come from this region, but from a city dependent on and closely connected to Rome, such as Naples or Genoa. The artist who best fits this description, alternating modern Roman and Tuscan elements with Maiano’s archaic style, is probably the Neapolitan Girolamo Santacroce. An interesting comparison may be made with the Saint Jerome on the Cisneros tombs in Alcalá de Henares and with the God the Father on the cymatium of Antonio de Gennaro’s tomb in the Neapolitan San Pietro Martire church: the slightly elongated head is constructed in the same way, the same sunken hollow cheeks, the same eyes marked by deep shadows, the hair dividing into strands over the forehead, and the beard wrought in grooves that run like flames. The Neapolitan Eternal is almost identical to Masp’s figure in the powerful grasp of the globe, and the right arm raised in a blessing. It also features a conception of drapery in a transverse plane behind the head. Likewise, the strength of the forearm is stressed by the sleeve folded over the joint of the arm, which is a characteristic element of the Neapolitan sculptor. The winding and vibrant handling of the drapery are common traits. These characteristics of the sculpture could well situate the figure on display at Masp in the ouevre of the Neapolitan artist, at a time close to the execution of the altar of Santa Maria a Cappella Vecchia. The dimensions, slightly smaller than life-size, cor- respond to those of the Neapolitan statues. This would lead to a dating around 1530. Unfortunately, there are no elements that en- able us to establish its origin more precisely. The São Paulo fragment, nevertheless, deserves to be mentioned as an important ac- quisition in connection with the Neapolitan sculptor’s catalogue and his workshop, which still awaits a definitive analysis.

— Luciano Migliaccio, 1998

---