Saint Peter Martyr Unmasking a False Madonna
The canvas is part of the cycle of paintings of the Archconfraternity of the Blessed Sacrament, in storage by the Milan Cathedral, a series of devotional “quadroni”, depicting miracles performed by the Eucharist or related episodes, commissioned from various artists and intended to be exhibited in the central nave of the Milan Cathedral on the occasion of Corpus Domini (inv. MD 2001.046.001-014; 2001.085.001; 2001.087.001).
Performed among the first of the entire cycle, at the beginning of the eighteenth century, the work is characterized by animated gestures, which results in a composition set along a luminous diagonal. Characteristic of Abbiati is the “Z” scheme, in backlight, adopted in the figure in the foreground on the right, a backdrop that introduces the spectator to the scene. The episode features Saint Peter Martyr, Dominican preacher and inquisitor, as the protagonist. A heretic makes an image of the Virgin and Child appear, which the faithful flock to venerate. The saint, showing the consecrated Host in front of her, reveals the deception: not only does the false Madonna run away in fear, blinded by the divine light emanating from the Eucharist, but she shows herself for what she was: a demonic presence, in fact with horns.
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Artwork details
- Artist:
- Filippo Abbiati (Milano 1643-1715)
- Title:
- Saint Peter Martyr Unmasking a False Madonna
- Date:
- c. 1700
- Medium and technique:
- oil on canvas
- Dimensions:
- 223,8 × 165 cm
- Inventory:
- MD 2001.046.002
- Location
-
Location: Archconfraternity of the Blessed Sacrament Room, ground floor
The cycle of the Archconfraternity of the Blessed Sacrament, on loan to the Diocesan Museum from Milan Cathedral and currently consisting of sixteen paintings and one large oval canvas, originally comprised fifty large devotional paintings, all depicting miracles brought about by the Eucharist or episodes connected with it. The cycle was commissioned by the Archconfraternity of the Blessed Sacrament, founded in 1564 and based in Milan Cathedral to promote Eucharistic worship. In the closing years of the seventeenth century, the members commissioned the most important painters working in Milan to produce the large canvases, which were to be displayed in the cathedral’s central nave for the feast of Corpus Christi. Alongside depictions of miracles of the Blessed Sacrament were scenes of key episodes in the life of Saint Catherine, the confraternity’s former patron saint. Some of the paintings were destroyed during the bombing raids of the Second World War.
