Two Angels

Introduction: These two angels, impressive for the strong definition of their forms and resolute gestures, are fragments from a key work of Giottesque painting in northern Italy. Originally part of a votive fresco once in the chapel of the ruling Bonacolsi and then Gonzaga family in Palazzo Acerbi-Cadenazzi, Mantua, they are notable not only for their reflection of the work of Giotto—to whom at one point The Met’s two fragments were once ascribed—but also for the historical moment the work was almost certainly intended to commemorate: the inauguration of the centuries-long rule of Mantua by the Gonzaga family which began when, on August 16, 1328, Rinaldo Bonacolsi (1278–1328), signore of Mantua, was overthrown and Luigi I Gonzaga (1268–1360) assumed power. To do so, Luigi Gonzaga allied himself closely with the Scaliger family of Verona, and this too plays a part in constructing the history and authorship of The Met’s frescoes. Stefano L’Occaso (2021), whose publications have contributed so much to our understanding of the period, has characterized the importance of the fresco in the following terms: “This extraordinary work marks a greater maturity in the reception of Giotto [in Mantua], and it is no coincidence that the fresco has long been [given to] to the great Tuscan master. We are in a moment when art is used as a private and domestic demonstration of power. . . within an internal chapel of the palace that belonged first to the Bonacolsi family and then to Luigi Gonzaga; a place that is not too accessible. In any case, the chapel appears to be the first private liturgical space decorated in Mantua….”[1]

Original Location and Appearance of the Frescoes: The votive fresco was rediscovered in 1857, and then detached from its original setting in 1870 by the Pisan painter/restorer Guglielmo Botti (1829–after 1906). The large image was subsequently divided and dispersed in the early twentieth century. Most of them are now in museum collections. Fortunately, prior to their removal, a local painter Giuseppe Razzetti (1801–1888) was commissioned by the commune to copy the various frescoes discovered in the chapel. Completed the following year, these watercolors are now owned by the Museo di Palazzo Ducale, Mantua.[2] Thanks to Razzetti’s watercolors (see fig. 1 above) as well as fragments of the fresco still in situ, the original location and appearance can be reconstructed with accuracy. The domestic chapel, the oldest of its kind in Mantua, was of modest dimensions (about 8.85 x 3.33 meters) and had a cycle of frescoes prior to the addition of the votive fresco discussed here. Located on the right wall, it was painted over the earlier fresco cycle commissioned by the Buonacolsi depicting the infancy of Christ and thus signaled a major change in ownership, patronage, and signification. When intact, the fresco showed the Madonna and Child enthroned with, on the Virgin’s left, a standing figure of Saint Lawrence or, as seems more likely, Leonard (now in the Frederikssund Willumsens Museum, Copenhagen; inv. GS 1591), and, on her right, Saint Catherine of Alexandria, depicted extending her hand towards the infant Christ to receive a ring signifying her mystic marriage to him (figs. 2–3). The two angels in The Met were situated above the figures of Saints Catherine and Leonard and thus to the left and right of the Virgin’s throne, towards whom they extended their hands.

Historical Context: Two factors have been observed that link the votive fresco to the overthrow of the Buonacolsi family and the establishment of the Gonzaga as rulers of Mantua in 1328. Saint Catherine of Alexandria was the patron saint of Luigi Gonzaga’s wife, Caterina Malatesta (they married in 1319). And, exceptionally, in Mantua Saint Leonard, rather than Saint Roch, was honored on August 16 to commemorate the Gonzaga victory over the Buonacolsi, as noted in the following rubric of 1404: “We decree and order, in honor of God and the Saints below, and in commemoration of the victory held on the very day of the feast of Saint Leonard by the great lords of Gonzaga, in obtaining the dominion of the city of Mantua, that on the feast of blessed Leonard, which is celebrated in the city of Mantua in the month of August, and the liberation, men and The commons. . .”[3] The Gonzaga took possession of the Buonacolsi palace in 1328/29, and it thus seems likely that the votive fresco was commissioned soon after to commemorate the victory.

Authorship: As noted above, the authorship of these important fresco fragments has been the subject of conflicting views. What is not in doubt is the very strong response the fresco reveals to Giotto’s frescoes in Padua. L’Occaso (2021) has noted for comparison the angels emerging from clouds in Giotto’s scenes of the Adoration of the Shepherds and Annunciation to Joachim in the Arena Chapel in Padua. However, whether the artist of the votive fresco was from Mantua or Verona remains uncertain. More than one scholar has seen a relationship of style to the primary exponent of Giottesque painting in Verona—the so-called Maestro del Redentore (Master of the Redeemer)—who between about 1314 and 1325 was responsible for the decoration of the vaults of the main chapel in the church of San Fermo, Verona (fig. 4) with monumental figures of Christ the Redeemer (whence his name), the Virgin, Saint John the Baptist, and two other saints, together with the symbols of the four evangelists. The recognition of the stature of the artist and the creation of a group of works ascribable to him is due to Maria Teresa Cuppini.[4] More recently, Andrea De Marchi has outlined the conspicuous place of this anonymous artist in the history of Giottesque painting in northern Italy, characterizing him as “the most charismatic interpreter of Giotto's novelties in Verona,” and further noting that his work is “inexplicable without direct experience in Giotto's workshop in Padua, while yet overturning the physicality and the quotidian truth of Giotto’s art.”[5] Regarding the relationship of the votive fresco in Mantua to the work of the Maestro del Redentore, L’Occaso (2021) has remarked: “Given the affinities between the figures in the Mantua fresco and those in San Fermo in Verona, I wonder if the Veronese painter himself could not have reached these results in a late phase of his career, in years close to the middle of the century.”

Keith Christiansen 2023

[1] L’Occaso 2021, p. 68.
[2] inv. 6573 b: see https://catalogo.beniculturali.it/detail/HistoricOrArtisticProperty/0300151070
[3] ASMn, AG, b. 2003, c. 149v: for the Latin text, see L’Occaso 2021, p. 208.
[4] "La pittura e la scultura in Verona al tempo di Dante," in Dante e Verona, exh. cat., Museo di Castelvecchio, Verona, 1965, pp. 175–98
[5] See “La prima decorazione della chiesa francescana,” in Paolo Golinelli and Caterina Gemma Brenzoni, I Santi Fermo e Rustico: un culto e una chiesa in Verona: Per il XVII centenario del loro martirio (304-2004), Verona, 2004, pp. 203–18.

Cappella Bonacolsi, Torre della Gabbia, Palazzo Acerbi, Mantua (as by Giotto); Anselmo Cadenazzi, Torre della Gabbia, Palazzo Acerbi, Mantua (until 1869; sold to Naya); Carlo Naya, Venice (1869–d. 1882); his widow, Ida Lessjak, Venice (1882–d. 1893); her 2nd husband, Antonio Dal Zotto, Venice (1893–d. 1918); his heir, Ferruccio Battaglia (from 1918); Ernesta Stern, Venice and Paris (by 1928–d. 1930; her estate, 1930); [Duveen, Paris and New York, 1930–44; transferred to Fowles, partner in the firm]; Edward Fowles, New York (1944–d. 1971)

Venice. Scuola di S. Giovanni Evangelista. "Arte sacra veneta antica," 1909, no catalogue? (as by Giotto, lent by prof. Dal Zotto) [see Malagola 1909].

New York. Duveen Brothers. September 1–October 30, 1958, no catalogue (as by Giotto) [see Ref. Sawin 1958].

New York. Duveen Brothers. "Art of Tuscany," November–December 1963, no. 12 (as by Giotto).

THIS WORK MAY NOT BE LENT.

Carlo d' Arco. Delle arti e degli artefici di Mantova. Mantua, 1857, vol. 2, pp. 7, 287–88, describes the frescoes decorating three walls of a room probably used as a private chapel in the Torre della Gabbia, Mantua, which had belonged to the Bonacolsi family; notes that a number of different artists worked on the frescoes which were by then much damaged; adds that watercolor copies had been commissioned from Giuseppe Razzetti, to be deposited in the local museum.

J[oseph]. A[rcher]. Crowe and G[iovanni]. B[attista]. Cavalcaselle. A History of Painting in North Italy: Venice, Padua, Vicenza, Verona, Ferrara, Milan, Friuli, Brescia, from the Fourteenth to the Sixteenth Century. London, 1871, vol. 1, p. 418 n. 1, mention the paintings in the Torre della Gabbia, including the Marriage of Saint Catherine; call them Giottesque and date them to the fourteenth century; note that they are all by different artists, but then wonder if they could be by Stefano da Verona.

Giovanni Battista Intra. Mantova ne' suoi monumenti di storia e d'arte. Mantua, 1883, p. 126, mentions fresco fragments in an oratory of the Torre della Gabbia, dating them slightly after the time of Giotto.

J[oseph]. A[rcher]. Crowe and G[iovanni]. B[attista]. Cavalcaselle. A History of Painting in Italy: Umbria, Florence and Siena from the Second to the Sixteenth Century. Ed. Langton Douglas. Vol. 3, The Sienese, Umbrian, & North Italian Schools. London, 1908, p. 256.

Carlo Malagola. "La mostra d'arte sacra nella scuola di S. Giovanni Evangelista in Venezia." Rassegna d'arte 9 (January 1909), p. 11, fig. 4 (a), as by "Giotto (?)".

Pietro Toesca. La pittura e la miniatura nella Lombardia, dai più antichi monumenti alla metà del Quattrocento. Milan, 1912, p. 210, dates the frescoes to the first half of the fourteenth century.

Bernard Berenson. Letter to Edward Fowles. February 17, 1930, attributes the two angels to Giotto; as formerly in the collection of Ernesta Stern.

Emilio Cecchi. Giotto. Milan, 1937, pp. 116–17, pls. 178 (a), 179 (b), attributes them to Giotto; states incorrectly that they have been transferred to canvas and that they must have flanked a Crucifixion.

Roberto Salvini, ed. Tutta la pittura di Giotto. Milan, 1952, pp. 52, 55, incorrectly as still in the Stern collection, Paris; lists them under works attributed to Giotto, noting Cecci's [see Ref. 1937] opinion.

Carlyle Burrows. "Art: Season's First Offerings." Herald Tribune (September 14, 1958), p. ?, ill. (a), in connection with the exhibition at Duveen, attributes them to Giotto, states that they are believed to come from the church of Santa Croce, Florence, and dates them about 1318.

Stuart Preston. "Past to Present." New York Times (September 28, 1958), p. X 15, ill. (a), in reference to the Duveen exhibition, questions the attribution to Giotto.

Henry A. La Farge. "Fourteenth- and Fifteenth-century Frescoes." Art News 57 (October 1958), p. 12, ill. (a).

Martica Sawin. "In the Galleries: Early Frescoes." Arts 33 (October 1958), p. 53.

Giovanni Paccagnini, ed. Mantova: Le arti. Vol. 1, Il medioevo. Mantua, 1960, pp. 147, 267–68, dates the Torre della Gabbia frescoes to the first half of the fourteenth century; notes the influence of Giotto and attributes them to a Lombard painter who may also have worked at Solaro; reproduces (fig. 333) Razzetti's watercolor after the Marriage of Saint Catherine [see Notes].

S[tella]. Matalon. Affreschi lombardi del Trecento. Milan, 1963, pp. 460–61, mentions the Torre della Gabbia frescoes as examples of fourteenth-century Lombard works from Mantua; adds that they have been detached and transported to Venice.

Roberto Salvini. All the Paintings of Giotto. New York, [1964], vol. 1, p. 63; vol. 2, p. 95, as Attributed to Giotto; incorrectly as still in the Stern collection.

Edi Baccheschi in The Complete Paintings of Giotto. New York, [1969], p. 123, nos. 173 (a), 174 (b), ill. [Italian ed., 1966, 4th ed., 1970, p. 123, nos. 173–74, ill.], relates them to the Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine and to the male saint (here identified as Lawrence) [see Notes], but not to the Torre della Gabbia.

Federico Zeri. Letter. May 26, 1973, identifies them as fragments of the Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine from the Torre della Gabbia; apparently rejects the attribution to Giotto.

Italo Bini. "Ipotesi di ricostruzione di un affresco giottesco che decorava la 'Cappella dei Bonacolsi'." Civiltà mantovana, n.s., no. 1 (1983), pp. 35–42, figs. 4 (a), 5 (b), 7 (reconstruction) [similar text appears in Italo Bini, "Gli affreschi giotteschi della cappella Bonacolsi," Cronache mantovane (1983), p. 16, ill. (reconstruction)], reconstructs the composition of the Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine, combining the two MMA fragments and those in Florence and Frederikssund [see Notes].

Federico Zeri with the assistance of Elizabeth E. Gardner. Italian Paintings: A Catalogue of the Collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, North Italian School. New York, 1986, pp. 76–77, pls. 4 (a), 5 (b), attribute them to a north Italian painter and date them about 1340; note that they are influenced by Giotto's frescoes in the Arena Chapel, Padua, and to a lesser extent by the work of Giuliano and Pietro da Rimini.

Ugo Bazzotti in Pittura a Mantova dal Romanico al Settecento. Ed. Mina Gregori. Milan, 1989, p. 211.

Ugo Bazzotti et al. Indizii di castigato disegno, di vivaci colori: Gli affreschi trecenteschi della Cappella Bonacolsi. Exh. cat., Palazzo Te. Mantua, 1992, pp. 11–118, colorpls. 22 (a), 23 (b), pl. 27c (reconstruction), give detailed provenance information; publish letters and official documents relating to the chapel and to the removal of the frescoes in 1870; reproduce drawings of the frescoes by Razzetti (in addition to his watercolors), photographs and drawings of the current appearance of the walls of the chapel, and reconstructions of their former appearance including the decorative elements; relate the date of the frescoes to the accession to power and marriage of Luigi Gonzaga in 1328.

Katharine Baetjer. European Paintings in The Metropolitan Museum of Art by Artists Born Before 1865: A Summary Catalogue. New York, 1995, p. 98, ill., attributes them to North Italian Painter, first quarter 14th century.

Chiara Spanio. "Appunti per una storia della pittura mantovana tra Duecento e Trecento." Arte cristiana 85 (November–December 1997), pp. 410, 420 n. 65, fig. 17 (b), attributes them to an unknown artist and dates them to the second quarter of the fourteenth century.

Ugo Bazzotti in Trecento: pittori gotici a Bolzano. Ed. Andrea De Marchi et al. Exh. cat., Museo Civico, Bolzano. [Trent], 2000, pp. 76, 78–79, under no. 5.

Stefano L'Occaso in Dante e la cultura del Trecento a Mantova. Ed. Stefano L'Occaso. Exh. cat., Museo di Palazzo Ducale. Mantua, 2021, pp. 89–91, figs. 22–23 (color).

These two fragments were originally located in the upper left and right corners of a fresco depicting the Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine in the Cappella Bonacolsi, Torre della Gabbia, Mantua. The fresco has been detached and the major part is now in the Galleria Luigi Bellini, Florence. A figure of a male saint, possibly Lawrence, originally on the right, is now in the J. F. Willumsens Museum, Frederikssund, Denmark. A nineteenth-century watercolor (Museo di Palazzo Ducale, Mantua) by Giuseppe Razzetti records the original disposition of the elements of the composition.

This work may not be lent.