Cinquecento volte la Pala Gozzi
On occasion of the 500th anniversary of the “Pala Gozzi”, Tiziano’s masterpiece created in 1520 and preserved in the “F. Podesti” Picture Gallery, we’ll guide you to discover the most characteristic aspects of this grandiose composition. From the figures in the painting to the importance of the landscape, from the technical to the iconographic aspects, the cycle of video-stories “Cinquecento volte la Pala Gozzi” will show you the details of the work and the curiosities related to its creation.
The first introductory video is presented by Paolo Marasca, Councilor for Culture of the Municipality of Ancona, followed by the in-depth analysis by the art historians and museum educators of the Civic Museums of Ancona, Sara Agostinelli, Fabiola Cogliandro, Claudia Pacciarelli and Marco Tittarelli, of the Soc. Coop. Le Macchine Celibi.
City Picture Gallery “F. Podesti”and Modern Art Gallery
Through its heritage, the Picture Gallery of Ancona tells the story of the city and the life of its citizens over the centuries. The gallery is located in a newly renovated palace and offers a pluralistic itinerary that constantly refers to the urban fabric. While creating the contents for the virtual tour, we have built a stronger relationship with technology and enhanced more comprehensive skills. First of all, we have significantly reorganized our heritage, including the works in the archives and museum deposits. We have also reviewed the scientific files of the artworks for a better understanding of the contents, and we are still examining the different possibilities that this digital tool offers to the audience, not only from a technological point of view.
Both the staff and the management strongly believe in the human and professional components for the understanding of the heritage. However, the interaction with this amazing technological tool can surely develop new and creative forms of narrative.
#1 Luigi Gozzi
Luigi Gozzi is the client of this grandiose work, immortalized in a masterful portrait within the composition. A noble from the city of Ragusa, today’s Dubrovnik, a skilled merchant, a prominent figure in commercial relations between Ancona, Rome and Ragusa. Thanks to his commission he left an exceptional pictorial piece that contains a piece of the city’s history.
#2 San Biagio
Behind Luigi Gozzi, stands San Biagio, patron saint of Ragusa, the town of origin of the client. The holy Bishop, wrapped in the sumptuous and embroidered cope. Protector, among other things, of the journeys of merchants, his presence is a precise indication of Gozzi’s merchant activity.
#3 Rosso Tiziano
Titian is also remembered as the master of color for his extraordinary ability in the construction of figures through the use of different colors. One color in particular has marked history: the red that bears his name. A warm, rich color, probably prepared by combining sienna, burnt sienna and red earth, sometimes with the addition of black or cinnabar red.
Pittura con-tatto.Vedere con le mani e con la mente
The participation of prof. Grassini, president and founder of the Museo Tattile Statale Omero, is dedicated to the relationship between painting and touch and to the possibilities that blind people have of perceiving a painting thanks to its translation in relief. A noteworthy study by an eminent expert on the subject, which gives a different point of view on pictorial representation.
As Aldo Grassini writes: painting for the blind is not a taboo!
“Without prejudice to the fact that in painting colors, light and shadows are essential for the purposes of a true aesthetic fruition, a painting is not made only of this. There are also the forms of the things represented, there are the contents, the messages, the symbology and all this, under certain conditions, is accessible even for those who do not see. A bas-relief reproduction of Guernica is exhibited at the Museo Omero. The blind do not see colors, but they can tactfully appreciate the shapes and of course also the message they are able to convey. “
Un filo rosso tra Oriente e Occidente
The celebrations for the Pala Gozzi leave the walls of the Pinacoteca thanks to MIRA – Ancona.
This video is part of the “Ancona gateway to the East” theme identified by the 5 Ancona museums for the regional project “Monuments and Museums of Ancona 500 years after the commissioning of a masterpiece: the Pala Gozzi, the Adriatic, the Porta d’Oriente “. The video was conceived and produced by the volunteers of the Universal Civil Service at the Museo Tattile Statale Omero with the project entitled “Museo Omero: heritage to be shared”.
Special thanks to the volunteers: Margherita Sozio, Marika Brugiapaglia, Alessia Cruciani, Simona Miotti, Monica Lofiego, Sara Carloni.
#4 Il paesaggio
#5 Un ponte di nuvole
The Sacred Conversation is here revolutionized. Titian chooses to represent the Virgin with the Child Jesus in her arms, lying on a bank of clouds crossed by the warm and muted light of the sunset, rather than sitting on an actual throne, as had been done in the past by other artists. An innovative device conceived by Raphael eight years earlier for his Madonna di Foligno and from which Tiziano draws inspiratio
Reading matter.Story of a restoration
Carlo Giantomassi, born in Ancona and a great figure in the international world of restoration, retraces for us the interventions carried out on the occasion of the restoration of the Pala Gozzi in 1987 carried out with his wife, Donatella Zari.
On that occasion the painting was the subject of multiple radiographic and infrared analyzes, which made it possible to reveal hidden details of the composition.We learn about the conservation and historical events of the work, the execution technique and the particularities of the pictorial film, in a story that highlights the material aspects of this grandiose altarpiece.
The Blue Gold. Discovering the woad
The woad, or Isatis tinctoria, is one of the oldest among the dyeing plants, the only blue used until 1600. Massimo Baldini, master dyer of Tintúra, talks about it.
Why are we talking about the ford? Because Luigi Gozzi, client of Titian’s Pala Gozzi, also dedicated himself to his trade, becoming in the sixteenth century a leading figure for the diffusion of the pigment in Italy and abroad.
#6 San Francesco
In the lower part of the painting, on the right side of the Virgin, we find the figure of San Francesco, titular saint of the church where the work was located, San Francesco ad Alto.
Francis of Assisi (1182 ca. – 1226), is the founder of the order of minor or Franciscan brothers. He wears a brown habit with a cord tied at the waist which is distinguished by the three knots, symbols of the three vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. The left hand brought to his chest makes the signs of the stigmata clearly visible, while with his right he holds a slender cross.
#7 Il fico, il pepe e il cardo
In the lower center, a young fig branch, reborn from an old trunk, stands out against the bottom, showing new leaves and a small fruit. The fig has various meanings. As a symbol of redemption and salvation, it is related to the figure of Luigi Gozzi, in view of the forgiveness required for sins committed.
In addition, the light hits two other plants placed on the sides of the fig tree: on the left there is a polygonum hydropiper, better known as “water pepper”; on the right a variety of thistle, carduus crispus. The two plants are devoid of flowers but perhaps they too have a symbolic meaning yet to be identified.
#8 Il retro
On the back of the work, consisting of nine poplar panels, there is a sweet-looking head, outlined in charcoal by the “master of color”. A sketch of decidedly superior quality to the others and, probably, by the hand of Tiziano himself, an unexpected detail capable of surprising and moving us.
#9 Il cartiglio
In the magnificence of the composition, our eye focuses on a small detail. At the base of the painting, a white cartouche unfolds, in which these words appear: “Aloyxius gotius Ragusinus / Fecit fieri / MDXX / Titianus Cadorinus pinsit” (“Alvise Gozzi from Ragusa had it done in the year 1520. Tiziano di Cadore painted”) . This is the first work of the Venetian master in which the date of realization of the work appears, a precious document and a sure stylistic point of reference.
Sulle traccedi San Francesco ad Alto
With this itinerary we go to the discovery of the works, artistic artifacts and characters that have made the former church of San Francesco ad Alto famous. Place where the Pala Gozzi built by Titian in 1520 was originally kept.
As part of the regional project “Monuments and Museums of Ancona 500 years after the commissioning of a masterpiece: the Pala Gozzi, the Adriatic, the Porta d’Oriente” the MIRA network – Musei In Rete Ancona, coordinated by the Culture Office of the Municipality of Ancona, has created two itineraries that will lead you to discover some of the most important works preserved in the 5 city museums. Here we offer you a small preview!
Correva l'anno 1520.Conversazione con Stefano Zuffi
“L’arte è (anche) presenza sulla scena della storia”
con questa idea Stefano Zuffi ci accompagna nel 1520, anno di esecuzione della Pala Gozzi di Tiziano Vecellio.
Lo storico dell’arte è stato curatore delle mostre “TIZIANO Sacra Conversazione” (Milano, Palazzo Marino 2017-2018) e “Tiziano & Tiziano. Due capolavori a confronto” (Pinacoteca Ancona, 2017) dedicate alla Pala Gozzi e all’attività pittorica di Tiziano.
In questa conversazione, intende raccontare il contesto storico e artistico in cui l’opera venne realizzata, analizzando gli eventi e le personalità che animarono quel 1520.