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Hall
18
Local Mannerism
In
this hall there are various paintings coming from small towns of central
Italy which offer us a mannerism highly mixed with other influences. The
oldest painting in the hall is "The Worship of the shepherds"
formerly in the church of S. Domenico.
Although unsigned, its most probable author according to art historians is
an Umbrian painter of the first half of the 16th century, Vittore Cirelli.
Various painters of rural central Italy in that period were formed on the
model of Luca Signorelli but at a certain point in their careers converted
to a type of mannerism with the classical overtones of Peruzzi and Raffaello.
In this painting the face of Baby Jesus resembles those of angels painted by
Raffaellino del Colle, the shepherds are done in the manneristic style of
Rome and Tuscany, and the background and entire composition reveal the
tradition of Signorelli.
The
altarpiece, "The death of the Virgin", is of a somewhat later date
and reveals some influence of Vasari. In the past it was kept on an altar in
S. Domenico together with a painting of another period and by another
artist, the "Adoration of the shepherds".
Of
more easily definable style are three wood pannels painted by Nicolò
Circignani for the church of S. Francesco - "The Martyrdom of St. Steven"
(1570), "The Immaculate Conception" (1573), the "Announcement"
(1577).
In the
Martyrdom we see a vibrant mannerism still interested in anatomic detail of
the Tuscan-Roman type, but in the other two works, the painter, a native of
Siena area, comes forth with his characteristic language consisting of
elongated skeletonless figures with small heads and elegant arms and legs.
The colours are in a pleasant array from pink to gold-yellow with tones of
gray and pale blue. We have a fusion of baroque with the local tradition of
the Siena area.
The
probable (though not absolutely certain) author of "The Crowning of the
Virgin", Virgilio Nucci, who painted it for the church of S.Benedetto,
drew upon an inspiration similar to that of Nicolò Circignani. The baroque
style colours of this work, however, are more in the tradition of the Marche
than in that of Siena. The circular "Pieta" which probably came from the
Confraternita della Carità is certainly in a baroque style typical of the
Marche and of the mannerist painter of Gubbio, Felice Damiani. The convas
representing "S. Francesco with Two Saints" was painted in the Marche
region around 1600. It contains baroque elements and its vivid colours and
expression recall the style of Andrea Lilli of Ancona.
  
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