Propositura dei Santi Jacopo e Filippo. Altare e tela di Matteo Rosselli (sec XVII)

SCARPERIA (Propositura dei Santi Jacopo e Filippo) – The first altar on the left wall is a monumental example of a stone artifact, with two large columns and capitals supporting a rectangular architrave with the inscription “Oportebat pati Christum” (“It was necessary for Christ to suffer”). On the columns’ base there are two coats of arms referring perhaps to the Lorenzi family. In the middle of the lower panel there is a marble coat of arms of the Medici family, with triple tiara and keys of St. Peter. The relief, probably not relevant to the altar, alluded to the brief period (June 23 – November 1490) where Giovanni de’ Medici was rector of the church of Saints Jacob and Philip, then ascended to the throne with the name of Leo X.

The altar stores a large canvas, furnished with the original carved wood frame, depicting the Crucifixion with the Virgin, St. John and the Saints Francis of Assisi and Charles Borromeo. The painting, signed by Matteo Rosselli and dated 1617, is an interesting example of the balanced, classically monumental and luminous painting of one of the most prolific artists of the first half of the seventeenth century, who was an effective interpreter of the instances of clarity and communicative effectiveness dictated by the Counter-Reformation.

© Il Filo – Idee e Notizie dal Mugello