This paper is devoted to the Oratory of St. George in Padua, which is examined in light of the devotional and propaganda needs of its patron. The author sets the Oratory against the background of the refined visual strategies developed in the cultural environment connected with the court of the Da Carrara, rulers of Padua. Commissioned as a funerary chapel by Raimondino Lupi di Soragna (born near Parma, a Paduan citizen since 1376), the Oratory was decorated by Altichiero between 1379 and 1384. The main protagonists of the painted cycle, that is, Saints George, Catherine and Lucy, had long since been the object of devotion for both Raimondino and other members of his family. Yet, the specific narrative choices, with regard to the episodes effectively represented, reveal a peculiar interpretation of the lives of the saints that the author of this article relates to both the personal stories of Raimondino himself and the intended funerary use of the chapel. The free-standing tomb of Raimondino, now partially destroyed, originally stood in the middle of the Oratory. It was decorated with sculpted portraits of Raimondino and nine members of his family. The sculpted effigies interacted visually with the portraits of the Lupi family members painted in the votive scene on the left wall of the Oratory, where the individuals are presented by their respective patron saint to the Virgin and Child Enthroned. The iconographic programme is completed by episodes of the Life of Christ on the counter-façade and on the end wall of the chapel, and figures of saints and angels on the ornamental frames that articulate the pictorial space. Together with homage to the mendicant orders, there emerges a clear predilection for martyr saints as well, all associated with some of the most popular and venerated saints of Padua - an obvious tribute to Raimondino’s adoptive homeland. Devotion, therefore, coexists in the Oratory with personal, dynastic promotion through the very same images that can thus be seen as conveyng multiple and composite messages.

Gli affreschi di Altichiero nell’Oratorio di San Giorgio: glorificazione dinastica e identitaria del ‘miles egregius’ Raimondino Lupi di Soragna

Murat
2021

Abstract

This paper is devoted to the Oratory of St. George in Padua, which is examined in light of the devotional and propaganda needs of its patron. The author sets the Oratory against the background of the refined visual strategies developed in the cultural environment connected with the court of the Da Carrara, rulers of Padua. Commissioned as a funerary chapel by Raimondino Lupi di Soragna (born near Parma, a Paduan citizen since 1376), the Oratory was decorated by Altichiero between 1379 and 1384. The main protagonists of the painted cycle, that is, Saints George, Catherine and Lucy, had long since been the object of devotion for both Raimondino and other members of his family. Yet, the specific narrative choices, with regard to the episodes effectively represented, reveal a peculiar interpretation of the lives of the saints that the author of this article relates to both the personal stories of Raimondino himself and the intended funerary use of the chapel. The free-standing tomb of Raimondino, now partially destroyed, originally stood in the middle of the Oratory. It was decorated with sculpted portraits of Raimondino and nine members of his family. The sculpted effigies interacted visually with the portraits of the Lupi family members painted in the votive scene on the left wall of the Oratory, where the individuals are presented by their respective patron saint to the Virgin and Child Enthroned. The iconographic programme is completed by episodes of the Life of Christ on the counter-façade and on the end wall of the chapel, and figures of saints and angels on the ornamental frames that articulate the pictorial space. Together with homage to the mendicant orders, there emerges a clear predilection for martyr saints as well, all associated with some of the most popular and venerated saints of Padua - an obvious tribute to Raimondino’s adoptive homeland. Devotion, therefore, coexists in the Oratory with personal, dynastic promotion through the very same images that can thus be seen as conveyng multiple and composite messages.
2021
La Basilica di Sant’Antonio in Padova. Archeologia Storia Arte Architettura
9788891320100
File in questo prodotto:
Non ci sono file associati a questo prodotto.
Pubblicazioni consigliate

I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.

Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11577/3411081
Citazioni
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.pmc??? ND
  • Scopus ND
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.isi??? ND
social impact