Saints Petronius of Bologna and Bernardin of Siena by Gaetano Gandolfi

Saints Petronius of Bologna and Bernardin of Siena c. 1774

painting, oil-paint, oil, canvas

portrait

baroque

painting

oil-paint

oil

oil painting

canvas

15_18th-century

history-painting

italian-renaissance

portrait art

Gaetano Gandolfi captured Saints Petronius and Bernardin in paint on canvas, their forms rendered with a soft, luminous touch. The bishop’s staff, a potent symbol of authority and guidance, anchors our attention. Its presence echoes across time, recalling the scepters of ancient rulers and the staffs of biblical figures. Consider the caduceus, entwined serpents around a staff, symbol of Hermes, messenger of the gods. Its echoes can be traced back to the rod of Asclepius, symbolizing medicine and healing in ancient Greece. Here, the bishop's staff merges spiritual authority with a protective, guiding presence. It evokes a deep, subconscious yearning for leadership and stability. This symbol's endurance reminds us that our collective memory is a river, constantly reshaping itself as it flows through the ages. The bishop’s staff, transformed and adapted, is a testament to the cyclical nature of symbols, ever-present in our visual vocabulary, resonating with new meaning and renewed emotional power.

Comments

stadelmuseum over 1 year ago

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Gaetano Gandolfi and his brother Ubaldo belonged to the end of the great tradition of Baroque painting in Bologna, which had begun with the Carraccis in the late 16th century. Among Gaetano’s most impressive works are his oil sketches painted with loose, impasto brushstrokes. This painting, presented in the gallery for the first time after decades in storage, has recently been restored to reveal the brilliance of its technique and the luminosity of its colouring. This is a preparatory oil sketch for a privately owned altarpiece that Gandolfi created in 1774 for the Chapel of St. Petronius in the Villa Piedimonte in Bologna.It shows the commissioner Petronio Giovanardi Rossi’s patron saint, Saint Petronius, the 5th century Bishop of Bologna. With a grand gesture he points to the basilica dedicated to him as well as the Garisenda and Asinelli towers, which still dominate today’s Bologna cityscape. Behind Petronius kneels Saint Bernardin of Siena, to whom an angel offers his attribute, a tablet with Christ’s monogram, IHS.