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FILE : Church of S. Spirito 0 |
| TITLE: The Pentecost |
LOCATION: Round window in the façade, win. W
DIMENSIONS: Ø cm. 285. The window is composed of sixteen panels connected by crossbars.
PROVENANCE: Original location
DATING: First decade of the sixteenth century
AUTHOR: Pietro Vannucci, called Perugino--designs (attribution); Maestri Gesuati—execution (attribution).
PATRONAGE:
SUBJECT/I: The descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Virgin Mary and the Apostles. Along the side of the dais runs the inscription "AVE MARIA…RA", which can be interpreted as meaning Ave Maria Gratia plena. At the bottom, there is a medallion with the lily, symbol of Florence, flanked on each side by a putto holding a cornucopia.
CRITICAL NOTES: "…and on the same level, that is above the chapter house, was a large room, where the friars who made stained glass windows were, with furnaces and other conveniences which were necessary to their practice: and …Pietro made cartoons for them, for many windows, all excellent works made in his time". Guided by this Vasarian text, an attribution of the window to Perugino was put forward, in primis, by Fischel and van Straelen, assigning the work to the late activity of the artist. Marchini, confirming that attribution, elaborates on how the resonant spatial construction conceived by Perugino for the "Pentecost" may have contributed to the new compositional solutions adopted for late Renaissance stained glass windows. But the scholar notes: "Il perfetto semicerchio degli Apostoli e lo scorcio del cielo sereno furono sopraffattti dall'avventato colore delle vesti in vistoso giuoco decorativo imposto dagli usi dell'ambiente". In reality, the chromatic imbalance that the scholar takes exception to for its disruptive effect is, rather, to be attributed to the disharmonious juxtaposition of original glass with modern pieces, which inevitably are overpowering and garish in comparison.
Acidini recently confirmed the attribution of the window to Perugino, pointing out close formal analogies with the artist's paintings of the "Ascension", which carry the weight of a "signature". The most evident Peruginesce trait is the attitude of the apostle on the left, who is strongly foreshortened, his hands open. Furthermore, the decorative motif used in the border undoubtedly belongs to Perugino's ornamental repertoire, appearing over and over again in many of Perugino's paintings on the hemlines of garments and table linens.
Vasari's account of the close and continual collaboration between Perugino and the Maestri Gesuati relieves the vexing problem of the relationship between the painter, that is, the artist who conceived the window designs, and the glazier, who translated those designs into stained glass. It is not always easy to evaluate the stylistic contribution of each personality in that collaborative relationship. But Vasari's characterization of the relationship between Perugino and the Maestri Gesuati is confirmed by technical analysis: the employment of particular glazing techniques—such as an adroit use of silver stain on colored glass or on abraded zones of flashed, red glass—is the result of stylistic choices made by the glazier above and beyond the design solutions furnished by the painter in his design. In the specific case of "The Pentecost", passages attesting to this kind of technical intervention on the part of the glazier appear to be altogether absent. This absence lends credence to a supposition that the Maestri Gesuati carefully followed the design that was provided as they carried out the glazing of the window . A study in progress on Tuscan stained glass windows (Burnam) will offer insight into the collaborative relationship between these master glaziers and the artists that were their contemporaries during the second half of the fifteenth-century.
CONDITION: The original coloration of the window has been dramatically altered by numerous nineteenth-century restorations whose gaudy color has imparted a harshness to the composition.
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
PHOTOGRAPHIC REF.: CVMA Italia Archives
COMPILER: R.K. Burnam January 2004