Key to Umbria: Perugia
 

Frescoes from San Francesco al Prato (14th century)

These frescoes, which were re-discovered on the altar wall of the crypt in 1888 and detached in the 1920s, are the autograph works of the so-called Maestro di San Francesco al Prato

  1. Those on the altar wall depicted the Crucifixion with the Virgin and St John the Evangelist, with four Franciscan saints to the sides:

  2. SS Louis of Toulouse and francis on the left; and

  3. SS Clare and Antony of Padua on the right.

  4. They were detached in 1933 and are now in the deposit of the Galleria Nazionale.

    

  1. Those on the side walls depict:

  2. the Marriage of the Virgin; and

  3. the Dormition of the Virgin.

  4. They were detached in 1921-7 and are now exhibited in Room 1 of the Galleria Nazionale.

Panel (1427)

This documented panel by Pellegrino di Giovanni has been lost.

Scenes of the Passion (ca. 1455)


These three small panels, which are attributed to Mariano di Antonio, probably came from the predella of an altarpiece in San Francesco al Prato.  The panels, which are now in the Galleria Nazionale, depict:

  1. the road to Calvary;

  2. the Crucifixion; and 

  3. the Deposition of Christ.

The first and the third of these panels were moved from the sacristy of  San Francesco al Prato to the Accademia di Belle Arti in 1810 and the second was acquired in the market in 1865. 

Madonna and Child (ca. 1460)

This originally polychrome terracotta statue of a half-length Madonna holding a standing, animated figure of the baby Jesus is attributed to Agostino di Duccio.  According to a late 19th century record, it originally occupied a niche on the facade (although there is no mention of it there in descriptions of the church, and its good condition suggests that it was never exposed to the elements).  The statue, which was probably executed while Agostino di Duccio was at work on the facade of the adjacent Oratorio di San Bernardino, passed to the Museo Civico at an uncertain date and entered the Galleria Nazionale in 1910.

Panels from a triptych (late 1460s)

The three panels, which are attributed to Giovanni Francesco da Rimini (a follower of Piero della Francesca), were documented in the late 18th century in the sacristy.  They passed to the Academia di Belle Arti in 1810 and to the Galleria Nazionale in 1863.

The panels depict:
  1. the Madonna and Child;

  2. St Francis; and

  3. St Jerome. 

The inscription on the base of the throne identifies the commissioner as Luca Alberto di Francesco.

Miracles of St Bernardino (1473)

These eight important panels by the so-called Workshop of 1473, which depict miracles of St Bernardino of Siena, are dated by inscription.  They were first recorded in 1784 in the sacristy of San Francesco al Prato and are now in the Galleria Nazionale.  In the panel illustrated here, St Bernardino restores to life a man found dead under a tree.

These panels are among the earliest surviving works in Perugia that fully reflect the aesthetic of Renaissance Florence and of the courts at Urbino and Rimini.  It is therefore surprising that they went unrecorded for so long.  They were restored in 1991-3, and it was during this work that it was confirmed that they had originally been painted on two planks (four scenes on each) that decorated the vertical sides of a niche.  Candidates for the original location of this niche include:

  1. San Francesco al Prato;

  2. the Oratorio di San Bernardino; and

  3. the Cappella di San Bernardino (now the Cappella del Santo Anello) in the Duomo. 

Niche from San Francesco al Prato (1487)

An inventory of 1737 (just before the remodelling of San Francesco al Prato in 1740-8) recorded this niche on the right wall of the church.  At that time, it housed a statue of St Francis.  The components of this niche (but not the statue) were recorded in the sacristy in the late 18th century, and they were reassembled in 1863 after they had been moved to the Galleria Nazionale

The polygonal niche, which contains an inscription that refers to St Francis as a venerated servant of the Church, is surrounded by painted panels inside a larger Renaissance frame.  The panels depict:

  1. the Madonna and Child in a mandorla of cherubs and two praying angels (above);

  2. St Peter (to the left); and

  3. St Paul (to the right).  

The signature of Fiorenzo di Lorenzo and the date appear on the hems of the robes of the Apostles. 

The predella panel contains small tondi of Franciscan saints:

  1. St Bonaventure (who had been canonised in 1482, only five years before the panel was painted);

  2. SS Bernardino of Siena and Antony of Padua; and

  3. St Louis of Toulouse.

Resurrection of Christ (1499)

Bernardo di Giovanni da Corneto commissioned this altarpiece from Perugino for his chapel in San Francesco al Prato.  It was one of three works in Perugia that Napoleon's commissioner, Jacques-Pierre Tinet selected for confiscation under the Treaty of Tolentino (1797).  Antonio Canova recovered it in 1815, but it remained in Rome.  For the last 40 years, it has been housed in the Pope's private library, and it is therefore sometime called “il Perugino el Papa”.  However, it was exhibited in the Museo Vaticano for a short period in 2004 after its latest restoration.


Angels with instruments of the Passion (15th century)

These four panels, have recently been attributed to Benedetto Bonfigli, were moved to the Galleria Nazionale in 1863 as two pairs:

  1. one pair from the Accademia di Belle Arte; and

  2. the other from the sacristy of San Francesco al Prato.

Each panel depicts a pair of angels holding instruments of the Passion of Christ. They probably came originally from a niche in San Francesco al Prato that housed a Crucifix or a statue of the Pietà. 

St John the Baptist Altarpiece (ca 1510)

Giorgio Vasari saw this altarpiece by Perugino on an altar in San Francesco al Prato that was presumably dedicated to St John the Baptist.  Although it was listed among works to be sent to the Musei Capitolini, Rome in 1812, it was subsequently decided that it should remain in the church.  It entered the Galleria Nazionale in 1863.

The panel depicts St John the Baptist standing in a landscape, flanked by SS Francis, Jerome, Sebastian and Antony of Padua.  The figure of St Sebastian is curiously dressed and has been adapted, somewhat opportunistically, from a cartoon used in Perugino's frescoes (ca. 1500) in the Collegio di Cambio.  Two other stylistic considerations provide circumstantial evidence for the dating to ca. 1510:

  1. The composition, and in particular the figures of SS Francis and Jerome seem to derive from the Madonna di Loreto (1507), which Perugino painted for Santa Maria dei Servi and which is now in the National Gallery, London (see below).

  2. Mariano de Ser Austerio used the figure of St John the Baptist in the altar frontal (1512) that he painted for the Cappella di San Giovanni Battista of the Collegio di Cambio.

SS Antony Abbot, Francis and Bernardino (ca. 1513)

This altarpiece seems to have been commissioned from Eusebio da San Giorgio in 1513 for San Francesco al Prato according to the will of Carlo Berardelli. 

  1. Its main panel depicts St Antony Abbot enthroned with SS Francis and Bernardino of Siena.  The Madonna and Child above are enthroned on clouds and surrounded by cherubs.  It passed to the gallery in 1863 and is now in the deposit of the Galleria Nazionale

  2. A recently discovered predella panel attributed to Berto di Giovanni that is now also the Room 27 of the Galleria Nazionale seems to have belonged to this altarpiece.  It depicts the Pietà with St Mary Magdalene and a female martyr in tondi.

Martyrdom of St Sebastian (1518)

Giuliano and Sinibaldo Martinello commissioned this altarpiece from Perugino in 1505 for their chapel in San Francesco al Prato.  It was not completed until 1518, the date inscribed on the base of the column to which the saint is tied, and Perugino was forced to litigate in 1520 to obtain the final payment. The altarpiece was moved from its original location at some time in the 16th century, and subsequently suffered serious damage.  It therefore escaped requisition by the French, and was transferred to the Galleria Nazionale in 1863. 

The panel depicts the saint tied to a column in an architectural setting.  Two archers take aim, while two flying angels witness the scene.  The composition is a reduced version of the fresco (1505) that Perugino executed for the church of San Sebastiano, Panicale.

Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane (1530-2)

Antonio di Luca commissioned this altarpiece in 1530 for his chapel (the Cappella di San Luca) in San Francesco al Prato, and he made the final payment for it in 1532.   This is one of three works by Giannicola di Paolo cited by Giorgio Vasari.  It was recorded in the early 19th century in the Oratorio di San Bernardino, by which time it was badly damaged.  It entered the Galleria Nazionale in 1810.

Nativity with St Anne (1536)

This altarpiece from San Francesco al Prato was probably the work that Cardinal Francesco Armellini commissioned from Domenico Alfani in 1536.  Although it was listed among works to be sent to the Musei Capitolini, Rome in 1812, it was subsequently decided that it should remain in the church.  The predella has been lost, but the main panel entered the Galleria Nazionale in 1863.  

The altarpiece depicts the newly born Jesus lying on the ground in a meadow outside the stable, surrounded by the Virgin and SS Joseph and Anne.  Three baby angels sing from a common hymn book, and a group of shepherds looks on.

Crucifixion with saints (1553)

Pietro di Matteo commissioned this altarpiece in 1553 from Domenico Alfani and Orazio Alfani for his altar in San Francesco al Prato.  Its wooden frame (now lost) was commissioned by the artists from Eusebio Bastoni.  The altarpiece, which is usually attributed to Orazio Alfani, depicts the Crucifixion with SS Jerome and Apollonia.  It was removed from the church in 1863 and is now in the Galleria Nazionale.

Cappella della Corgna (1555-62)

Cardinal Ascanio della Corgna commissioned  “Giovanni di Domenico Fiorentino” (who has been identified as Giovanni di Domenico Caffarelli da Settignano) to build this chapel on the left wall of the right transept, following a design by Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola.  Two years later, Giacomo della Corgna commissioned its decoration by Giovanni Battista Ingoni, in a contract that specified that Vignola would assess the work and set the price.   Giorgio Vasari reported that Ingoni executed “many pictures of the life of St Andrew [to whom the chapel was dedicated], in which he acquitted himself very well”.

Other artists who worked on the chapel at this time include:

  1. Ludovico Scalza, who executed its stucco decoration; and

  2. Vincenzo Danti, who executed two statues, one of which portrayed St Andrew.

Much of this work was lost during the restoration of 1740-8, although some fresco fragments were detached in 1970 and moved to the sacristy.

Adoration of the Magi (1564)

This altarpiece is signed by “Henricus Malinis” (Hendrik van den Broeck (Arrigo Fiammingo da Malines) and dated by inscription.  Adriano di Nicola Montemelini commissioned it for his chapel in San Francesco al Prato.  It was moved to the Duomo in 1813, returned to San Francesco in 1817, and entered the civic collection in 1863.  It is now in the Galleria Nazionale.

In his “Life” of Benvenuto Garofalo and others, Giorgio Vasari writes that “the Fleming Arrigo, a master of glass windows, has painted in [San Francesco al Prato] an altarpiece in oils, containing the story of the Magi, which would be beautiful enough if it were not somewhat confused and overloaded with colours, which conflict with one another and destroy all the gradation.


Other Panels by Orazio Alfani (16th century)

The Galleria Nazionale contains two other panels from San Francesco al Prato that are attributed to Orazio Alfani, both of which were removed in 1863.  They depict:

  1. St Michael destroying the seven deadly sins; and

  2. Christ disputing with the doctors in the Temple of Jerusalem.

Madonna and Child with saints (16th century)

This altarpiece is attributed to Domenico Alfani, came from San Francesco al Prato.  It was one of three works in the church that Napoleon's commissioner, Jacques-Pierre Tinet selected for confiscation in 1797.  Antonio Canova recovered it in 1815 and it was returned to the church. 

  1. The main panel depicts the Madonna and Child with St Joseph and the young St John the Baptist, with SS Francis and Antony of Padua kneeling below.  It was transferred to the Galleria Nazionale in 1863 and is now in the deposit. 

  2. The predella, which does not seem to have been sent to France, has been lost. 

Immaculate Conception (1558)

Marsia di Ridolfo commissioned this altarpiece from Dono Doni for her altar in San Francesco al Prato.  It depicts the standing Virgin surrounded by angels, with a collection of prophets, sibyls and scholars below.  A scroll under her feet proclaims her immaculate conception.  It was removed in 1863 and entered the Galleria Nazionale in 1872.

Communion of St Bonaventure (17th century)

This panel from San Francesco al Prato, which is attributed to Simeone Ciburri, is now in the Galleria Nazionale.

Ecstasy of Saint Joseph of Copertino (1761-3)

The friars commissioned this altarpiece from Gaetano Lapis for the 2nd altar on the right.  [Where is it now?].

 


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