Bardi Altarpiece (Parmigianino)

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Bardi Altarpiece
Parmigianino, pala di bardi.jpg
Artist Parmigianino
Year1521
MediumTempera on panel
Dimensions203 cm× 130 cm(80 in× 51 in)
LocationChurch of Santa Maria, Bardi

The Bardi Altarpiece (Italian : Pala di Bardi), is an Italian Mannerist painting by the Italian painter Parmigianino, dating from c. 1521 and housed in the church of Santa Maria at Bardi, Emilia-Romagna, Italy.

Contents

History

In 1521 Parma was invaded by the imperial-papal troops under Prospero Colonna, in the course of the Italian Wars. The young Parmigianino, then seventeen, was sent by his family to Viadana to his cousin's house. According to Italian late Renaissance art biographer Giorgio Vasari, [1] there Parmigianino painted two tempera panels: St. Francis Receiving the Stigmata (lost) and the Marriage of St. Catherine, which was placed in the church of San Pietro. The latter was stolen in 1629, during the War of Mantuan Succession, and brought to Parma. Later, in unknown circumstances, it was transferred to the current location in Bardi, a town near Parma: here, in 1860, members of the Academy of Fine Arts of Parma recognized as by Parmigianino, although the identification remained disputed until the 1930s.

Description

The work depicts the mystical marriage of Saint Catherine of Alexandria, set a in a fake niche with a colonnade surmounting the background curved wall. The scheme is that of the Holy Conversation. In the middle is the Virgin sitting on a tall throne, above a historiated section of column (decorated with a barely visible putto), giving the Child to St. Catherine, on the left, who receives the symbolic marriage ring. At the sides are two saints, St. John the Evangelist (with a chalice full of snakes, a hint to his alleged miraculous discovery and healing of a poisoned drink) and St. John the Baptist, who holds his typical attributed, a tall and slim cross. Catherine's attributed are shown in the low foreground, including a broken wheel and the martyrdom palm.

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San Giovanni Evangelista, Parma Church in Parma, Italy

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<i>Circumcision of Jesus</i> (Parmigianino) Painting by Parmigianino

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<i>Vision of Saint Jerome</i> Painting by Parmigianino

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(The) Mystic(al) Marriage of Saint/St. Catherine may refer to any of a large number of paintings of the Mystical marriage of Saint Catherine, a few of which are:

<i>Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine</i> (Parmigianino, National Gallery of Parma) Painting by Parmigianino

Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine or Mystic Betrothal of Saint Catherine is a c.1524 oil on canvas painting by the Italian Renaissance painter Parmigianino. The work is now in the Galleria nazionale di Parma. Art historians argue that the work may be attributed to the period in which Parmigianino was painting his first works in the church of San Giovanni Evangelista, as also emerges from a recent restoration, which has shown that its technique is near-identical to that of Parmigianino - "no underdrawing, pigment use, descriptive speed, drafting of final shadows, using fingers and brush-ends as tools".

<i>Portrait of a Man in a Red Beret</i> Painting attributed to Parmigianino

Portrait of a Man in a Red Beret or Self-Portrait in a Red Beret is an oil on paper painting attributed to Parmigianino or Michelangelo Anselmi, executed c. 1540, now in the collection of the National Gallery of Parma.

<i>Madonna and Child with Saint Zechariah</i> Painting by Parmigianino

Madonna and Child with Saint Zechariah is a c.1530–1533 oil on panel painting by Parmigianino, now in the Uffizi. It shows the Madonna and Child with Zechariah, father of John the Baptist.

References

  1. Giorgio Vasari, Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects