Titolo: Perugino in Spello
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Perugino in Spello

The magnificent medieval Church of Santa Maria Maggiore in Spello, renowned for the “Cappella Bella” (Beautiful Chapel), also known as the Baglioni Chapel and entirely frescoed by Pinturicchio between 1500 and 1501, houses two late-period works by Pietro Vannucci, celebrated as “the divine painter”. On the two pillars flanking the apse, visitors can admire the Pietà with Saint John the Evangelist and Saint Mary Magdalene on the left, and the Madonna with Child accompanied by Saint Catherine of Alexandria and Saint Blaise on the right.

These works were commissioned on March 8, 1521, by some canons of the collegiate church in Spello to decorate the two chapels beside the main altar. In 1644, architect Belardino da Como, who oversaw the expansion and restoration of the church, decided to remove both chapels while preserving the back wall with Vannucci's frescoes, ensuring that they remained in the exact place where they were conceived and created.

The painter, already advanced in age at the time (he would pass away two years later, in 1523), completed the commissions promptly within the following two months.

Fresco of the Pietà by Michelangelo Andine: Mary holding the dead Christ in the center, with angels and kneeling female figures on the sides.

Pietà with Saint John the Evangelist and Saint Mary Magdalene

Madonna with Child on a throne between a bishop with a crosier and a saint holding a palm, in a delicately toned fresco.

Madonna with Child, Saint Catherine of Alexandria, and Saint Blaise

In the Pietà with Saint John the Evangelist and Saint Mary Magdalene, the Virgin is depicted on a wooden throne bearing the name of the patron, a certain Michelangelo Andine, at its base. Two scrolls hanging from the top of the throne display the artist’s signature and the year of the painting’s creation, one of the last works by the painter, dated 1521. The Madonna, draped in a wide violet mantle – a funerary color – holds Christ in her arms, almost gathered unto himself. Kneeling beside the throne on the beautifully patterned marble floor are Saint John the Evangelist and Saint Mary Magdalene, both in prayerful posture with hands clasped. At Mary Magdalene's feet lies her customary iconographic attribute, a jar of ointment. The low wall behind the throne and figures opens to reveal a soft Umbrian landscape.

Opposite the Pietà, on the other side of the altar, is the fresco of the Madonna with Child between Saint Catherine of Alexandria and Saint Blaise. In this piece, the Virgin is seated on a high wooden throne bearing the patron’s name and the execution date: “EXPE(NS)IS IOANNE BERNARDELLI / AD MDXXI DIE XXV APRILIS”.

She is flanked by Saint Blaise on the left and Saint Catherine of Alexandria on the right, each with their traditional iconographic symbols: episcopal garments and a wool comb, the instrument of his martyrdom, for Saint Blaise; a sumptuous dress, highlighting her noble origins, and the martyr’s palm for Saint Catherine. Here too, the throne is placed before a low wall overlooking an open countryside.

However, both works lack the detailed landscapes typical of the artist’s style, perhaps due to his advanced age, which might have affected his eyesight, or possibly to ensure the speed of execution.

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