This paper entitled: "The morellian contribution to the rediscovery of the great painters of the 16th century in Brescia: Moretto, Romanino and Savoldo" aims to examine, through a systematic analysis of the most important works of Giovanni Morelli, in particular the one about the galleries of Munich, Dresden and Berlin and the one about the Borghese and Doria Pamphilj galleries, the connoisseur's contribution to the rediscovery of the most significant painters of the 16th century in Brescia: Moretto, Romanino and Savoldo. Giovanni Morelli was born in Verona on February 25, 1816, and died in Milan, at the age of 75, on February 28, 1891. To these days he is considered by the critique the most important art historian of Italy at the turn of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, together with his compatriot Giovan Battista Cavalcaselle. Morelli was fundamental for the introduction of an experimental method which contributed, through the course of the 19th Century, to give rationality to the discipline of art history. This experimental method, above all, allows to attribute verifiable propositions to the attributive method. The so called “Metodo morelliano” consisted in the study and direct observation of paintings in churches, museums, private noble residence and palaces of several cities: Morelli suggested to paying attention to those particulars, only apparently secondary, such as the fingers or the earlobes, those parts, in the realization of which, the artist has paid less attention and for this reason they are the most true and real, because they are less influenced by the style or schools of membership. Many of the first attributions of paintings to the major painters of the Brescia Renaissance are due to him. To name but a few, Morelli was the first to attribute to Savoldo the Portrait of a young man (perhaps a Saint John the Evangelist) in the Borghese Gallery in Rome and the Portrait of a woman in the dress of Saint Margaret of the Capitoline Art Gallery in Rome. He attributed for the first time to the Romanino the Madonna and Child of the Doria Pamphilj Gallery in Rome and was the first to attribute to Moretto the Redeemer with the cross and a devotee today at the Carrara Academy in Bergamo. The intuitions of the connoisseur did not always turn out to be exact: an example is the case of the Salomè by Romanino, preserved today at the Bode Museum in Berlin, which Morelli considered the work of Francesco Prata da Caravaggio (the work has been correctly re-attributed to the painter only in modern times by Ballarin) and the case of the lunette depicting the Coronation of the Virgin with the Saints Agostino, Silvia, Monica and Gregorio Magno of the church of San Giovanni Evangelista in Brescia which the connoisseur, although aware of the signature on the table, considers work by Girolamo Romanino. Often the opinions of the connoisseur led to heated discussions, as in the case of the Madonna di Paitone of the Gemäldegalerie in Dresden attributed to Moretto from Rio, Passavant and from Crowe and Cavalcaselle and that Morelli, based on the knowledge of the original painting in the homonymous sanctuary, consider a copy, not even the best, of the artist's painting.
Il presente elaborato dal titolo: “Il contributo morelliano alla riscoperta dei grandi pittori del ‘500 bresciano: Moretto, Romanino e Savoldo” si propone l’obbiettivo di esaminare, tramite un’analisi sistematica degli scritti più importanti di Giovanni Morelli, in particolare quello sulle gallerie di Monaco, Dresda e Berlino e quello sulle gallerie Borghese e Doria Pamphilj, il contributo del conoscitore alla riscoperta dei pittori più importanti del ‘500 bresciano: Moretto, Romanino e Savoldo. Giovanni Morelli nasce a Verona il 25 febbraio del 1816 e muore a Milano, all’età di 75 anni, il 28 febbraio del 1891. Ad oggi è considerato dalla critica il più importante storico dell’arte dell’Italia a cavallo tra otto e novecento, insieme al connazionale Giovan Battista Cavalcaselle. Morelli è, in particolare, fondamentale per l’introduzione di un metodo sperimentale che contribuì, nel corso dell’Ottocento, a dare alla disciplina della storia dell’arte un carattere razionale e che, soprattutto, potesse permettere di attribuire delle proposizioni verificabili al metodo attributivo. Il cosiddetto “metodo morelliano” consisteva nello studio e nell’osservazione diretta delle opere d’arte nelle chiese, nei musei e nelle dimore private delle città e, in particolar modo, nell’osservazione di quei particolari, solo all’apparenza secondari, come le dita delle mani o i lobi delle orecchie, quelle parti, cioè, nella cui realizzazione l’artista ha posto meno attenzione e per questo motivo i più veri e reali, perché meno influenzati dallo stile o dalle scuole di appartenenza. A lui si devono molte prime attribuzioni di quadri ai maggiori pittori del rinascimento bresciano. Per citarne solo alcune, Morelli fu il primo ad attribuire al Savoldo il Ritratto di giovane (forse un San Giovanni Evangelista) della Galleria Borghese di Roma, il Ritratto di donna in veste di Santa Margherita della Pinacoteca Capitolina di Roma. Attribuì per la prima volta al Romanino la Madonna col Bambino della Galleria Doria Pamphilj di Roma e fu il primo ad attribuire al Moretto Il Redentore con la croce e un devoto oggi all’Accademia Carrara di Bergamo. Non sempre le intuizioni del conoscitore si rivelarono esatte: ne sono un esempio il caso della Salomè del Romanino, conservata oggi al Bode Museum di Berlino, che Morelli ritenne opera di Francesco Prata da Caravaggio (l’opera che è stata correttamente riattribuita al pittore solo in tempi moderni da Ballarin) e il caso della lunetta raffigurante l’Incoronazione della Vergine con i santi Agostino, Silvia, Monica e Gregorio Magno della chiesa di San Giovanni Evangelista a Brescia che il conoscitore, sebbene conscio della firma apposta sulla tavola, ritenne opera di Girolamo Romanino. Spesso le opinioni del conoscitore portarono ad accese discussioni, come nel caso della Madonna di Paitone della Gemäldegalerie di Dresda attribuita al Moretto dal Rio, dal Passavant e da Crowe e Cavalcaselle e che Morelli, sulla base della conoscenza dell’originale dipinto nell’omonimo santuario, considera una copia, nemmeno delle migliori, del dipinto dell’artista.
Il contributo morelliano alla riscoperta dei grandi pittori del '500 bresciano: Moretto, Romanino e Savoldo.
CIRANI, BEATRICE
2020/2021
Abstract
This paper entitled: "The morellian contribution to the rediscovery of the great painters of the 16th century in Brescia: Moretto, Romanino and Savoldo" aims to examine, through a systematic analysis of the most important works of Giovanni Morelli, in particular the one about the galleries of Munich, Dresden and Berlin and the one about the Borghese and Doria Pamphilj galleries, the connoisseur's contribution to the rediscovery of the most significant painters of the 16th century in Brescia: Moretto, Romanino and Savoldo. Giovanni Morelli was born in Verona on February 25, 1816, and died in Milan, at the age of 75, on February 28, 1891. To these days he is considered by the critique the most important art historian of Italy at the turn of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, together with his compatriot Giovan Battista Cavalcaselle. Morelli was fundamental for the introduction of an experimental method which contributed, through the course of the 19th Century, to give rationality to the discipline of art history. This experimental method, above all, allows to attribute verifiable propositions to the attributive method. The so called “Metodo morelliano” consisted in the study and direct observation of paintings in churches, museums, private noble residence and palaces of several cities: Morelli suggested to paying attention to those particulars, only apparently secondary, such as the fingers or the earlobes, those parts, in the realization of which, the artist has paid less attention and for this reason they are the most true and real, because they are less influenced by the style or schools of membership. Many of the first attributions of paintings to the major painters of the Brescia Renaissance are due to him. To name but a few, Morelli was the first to attribute to Savoldo the Portrait of a young man (perhaps a Saint John the Evangelist) in the Borghese Gallery in Rome and the Portrait of a woman in the dress of Saint Margaret of the Capitoline Art Gallery in Rome. He attributed for the first time to the Romanino the Madonna and Child of the Doria Pamphilj Gallery in Rome and was the first to attribute to Moretto the Redeemer with the cross and a devotee today at the Carrara Academy in Bergamo. The intuitions of the connoisseur did not always turn out to be exact: an example is the case of the Salomè by Romanino, preserved today at the Bode Museum in Berlin, which Morelli considered the work of Francesco Prata da Caravaggio (the work has been correctly re-attributed to the painter only in modern times by Ballarin) and the case of the lunette depicting the Coronation of the Virgin with the Saints Agostino, Silvia, Monica and Gregorio Magno of the church of San Giovanni Evangelista in Brescia which the connoisseur, although aware of the signature on the table, considers work by Girolamo Romanino. Often the opinions of the connoisseur led to heated discussions, as in the case of the Madonna di Paitone of the Gemäldegalerie in Dresden attributed to Moretto from Rio, Passavant and from Crowe and Cavalcaselle and that Morelli, based on the knowledge of the original painting in the homonymous sanctuary, consider a copy, not even the best, of the artist's painting.È consentito all'utente scaricare e condividere i documenti disponibili a testo pieno in UNITESI UNIPV nel rispetto della licenza Creative Commons del tipo CC BY NC ND.
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https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14239/1817