Description
The Apparition of the Madonna of Santa Maria del Fonte to Giannetta in Caravaggio
Oil on canvas
65.5x137.5 cm
This painting represents the Apparition of the Madonna of Santa Maria del Fonte to Giannetta, a subject linked to a miraculous event that occurred in 1432 near Caravaggio, in Lombardy. According to tradition, the Virgin appeared to Giannetta de' Vacchi, a young peasant woman, near a miraculous spring, announcing peace and salvation for the people. The theme is closely linked to Lombard Marian devotion. The Sanctuary of Santa Maria del Fonte in Caravaggio is one of the most important places of Marian devotion in Northern Italy.
The scene shows the Virgin Mary, standing, manifesting herself to the young Giannetta, kneeling in prayer and in peasant clothes. The Madonna is enveloped in a blue mantle and wears light-colored clothes, while the sanctuary is glimpsed in the background, enveloped by a serene and spiritual landscape.
The painting is accompanied by a letter from the Mons. Rector of the Basilica Sanctuary "Nostra Signora del Fonte" dated 1989. The Rector recognizes in the painting "the image of the apparition of the Madonna in this land in Caravaggio. The artistic expression of the scene is among the richest and most alive in the centuries-old history of this Sanctuary."
Dimensions
65.5x137.5 cm
Provenance
Private collection
Conditions
Defects and restorations.
