CHRISTOFANO ALLORI
Study of a Noble Figure in the Manetto dell'Antella Altar
The Healing a Mute Cripple in the Basilica Santissima Annuziata, Florence, Italy
Red chalk on prepared paper; 15 3/8 x 10 5/8 in. (390 x 270 mm)
Provenance: Hill Stone Gallery; January, 2022, Stair Gallery, Hudson; Private Collection, Philadelphia; Acquired by Decouvert in 2023.
BACKGROUND
The altar pictured on right, painted between 1600 and 1605, was commissioned by the dell'Antella family for their private chapel to commemorate and celebrate the legacy of their ancestor Manetto dell'Antella, who lived in 13th century. Manetto was one of the seven founders of the Order of the Servants of Mary [Servites]. It was created for the chapel that bears their name in the Basilica della Santissima Anunziata in Florence.
The altar depicts Manetto dell'Antella: the abbot, clad in sacred vestments, reaching towards the cripple with his left hand, while his right hand points to the statue of the Virgin on the altar, suggesting that the healing described in the 15th-century Dialogus de Origine Ordinis by Fra Paolo Attavanti was a consequence of Mary’s intercession. In the lower left foreground, a kneeling nobleman seen from behind, wearing a red robe points in the direction of the young cripple, while conversing with a group of intellectuals and clerics looking on from the left with other figures in an attitude of devout wonder.
Can you imagine what he might be saying? The cripple’s body is inclined to suggest an awkward or unstable gait. The discarded wooden crutch on the floor is evidence of the physical transformation that has taken place. The statue of Saint Paul in the background reminds viewers to consider the history of the saints, as if to remind them that miracles and wonders deserve attention and scrutiny.
EXPERT OPINIONS
The authorship of our drawing has been confirmed by Miles Chapell and Elizabeth Pelliod.
An email from Dr. Pelliod reads as follows: “…Miles is of course a great expert on Cristofano, and I do think the attribution is pretty solid….The drawing vaguely reminds me of the figure in the lower left in C. Allori’s Altarpiece for the Antella Family, SS. Annunziata. I will send a photo. Look at the pointing hand.”