The most ancient and most important work of art to be found in the Pieve di San Lorenzo at Borgo San Lorenzo is visible above the first pillar of the right aisle: this is a painted tablet depicting the Madonna and Child (the only remains of the latter are two small arms protruding towards the Virgin), a surviving fragment of a wider altarpiece related to Giotto’s activity in youth, roughly contemporary to the decoration of the upper basilica at Assisi. The solemn and iconic representation of the Madonna is softened and humanized by the vivid and realistic spatial sensibility as well as the affectionate gestures of the hands of the Child: the first caught in a soft caress, and the other engaged in holding the index finger of the Mother. Giotto’s table, the only piece of art of the great painter present in his homeland, is an episode of fundamental importance in the Italian painting of the late 13th century, exhibited in recent years in important international exhibitions and is a lucky find of a few years ago. The work, completely repainted, was covered by several layers of colour and blackened by the smoke of candles and was commonly known as ” The Black Madonna”. It was originally placed on the main altar of the oratory of Sant’Omobono (it was also assumed that it came from convent of St. Francis in Borgo San Lorenzo). It appeared in its original design, casually, during a restoration carried out at the Opificio delle pietre dure in Florence. The table, although having become renowned only in recent years (1985), has now become the subject of a considerable scholarship current that seems definitely oriented to recognize in it the hand of Giotto himself.
© Il Filo – Idee e Notizie dal Mugello
