To the left of Baroccio's picture there is a fine glass window designed
by Arrigo Fiammingo in 1565. The window has been restored, but is
beautiful in parts, both in colour and design, and Perugia is not rich
in coloured glass. The subject represented is S. Bernardino of Siena
preaching to the people of Perugia in the church of S. Maria del Popolo.
The Saint is in the background--he, and the people and the architecture
round him, are brown and quiet in colour. The figures in the foreground
are far more brightly coloured, notably that of the old merchant in a
blue cloak. The small naked boy who is leading him is perhaps the most
charming point of the whole composition. The child's figure is like a
little S. John, but he is probably meant to represent the Spirit of the
Merchants' Guild, for he has a bundle bound about his shoulders, over
which his yellow curls fall down, and a bundle or "_pacco_" is the sign
of the Merchants' Guild.
The stalls in the chapel are very fine work of the sixteenth century. A
whole book might easily be written about the stalls of the Perugian
churches. Their wealth of beauty and of real excellency is
inexhaustible, but it would be hopeless in so short a space to attempt
any full description of the individual ones. The choir of the cathedral
is in itself a fine example and worthy of a very careful study.
Immediately opposite the chapel of S. Bernardino is that of the Virgin's
Ring. To the mere lover of art the interest of this chapel is dead
indeed. Perugino's "Sposalizio": that wonderful design which Pietro
created for his Duomo, and which Raphael a few years later copied, went,
as so many of the very best Perugian paintings went, to swell the
galleries of Napoleon. The poor picture has never travelled back across
the Alps as many of its contemporaries have done. It hangs on the walls
of the Gallery at Caen, and an inferior copy fills the frame which
first was made to hold it.
To the pious, a treasure of infinitely greater price than Perugino's
altar-piece is still shut safe and sure within the railings of the
chapel, and this is the wedding-ring of the blessed Virgin Mary. It was
brought to Perugia by a certain Winterio di Magonza, who "piously stole
it" from Chiusi in 1472. The Ring is kept in a wonderful and exquisitely
worked silver casket,[58] but so extraordinary is its value, that it can
only be seen five times a year, and during the rest of the time a
monstrous silver cloud covers the spot where it is stowed away.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account