Women of the Stuard Art Gallery

Representing
more than 50% of humanity, the female figure has always been the
protagonist of the figurative arts and, of course, of many works kept
in the Art Gallery. We find it already in the first hall in the
Lamentation over the Dead Christ attributed to Nicolò di Tomaso: the
women who witnessed the crucifixion gather around the lifeless body
of Jesus, expressing their pain in different ways. Among all, Mary
stands
out, recognizable thanks to the dark blue mantle and the tenderness
with which she surrounds the head of her son. A similar feeling of
sweetness reveals the caress of the Baby Jesus to the Mother in the
panel Our Lady of Mercy: here, however, Mary is seated on a lavish
throne and wears a golden diadem, as the "queen" of heaven.
Nothing seems to undermine her serenity, except for the figure of the
goldfinch that refers to the Passion.

The figure of Mary, with her expression of pain, is depicted between the body of Christ and the neutral background, where her halo seems to join the background.

The female figures, represented in that manner of the courteous Gothic of the fourteenth century, all have their gaze turned towards the dead body of Christ. The figure on the right could be Mary Magdalene.

In addition to Christ, the other male figure is placed at the limit of the composition, almost to devote himself more to the figure of Christ and women.

In
the large canvas Christ and the Canaanite of Annibale Carracci, a
woman from the region of Canaan annoys the Master begging him to save
her daughter, who lies at home at the end of her life. Her tenacity
leads Jesus, at first reluctant to satisfy the request of a
non-Jewish woman, to perform the miracle. The plastic pose and the
expressiveness of the face of the Canaanite
reveal the interest of Carracci for the ancient statuary admired in
Rome.

The expressiveness in the woman's face perfectly sums up the pain she is going through and is the main expressive point of the composition.

Not only the face, but also the body retains that plasticity and volume, also visible in the drapery and in the adherence of the clothes to the body.

Even more resolute is the biblical heroine Judith , represented by Lavinia Fontana as she hands the head of Holofernes, Assyrians Army General, who was besieging Israel at the time, to the elderly maid. Taking advantage of the man's drunkenness, Judith kills him, throws the enemy into panic, and frees her people. Her figure stands out in the center of the canvas, built on a serpentine line, typical of the so-called "Mannerism", richly dressed and jeweled.

Judith’s proud gaze turns to the dead body of Holofernes, just after his beheading.

The fall of the Assyrian enemy is highlighted by his helmet on the ground and his sword, used for the macabre moment.

The head of Holofernes, without the helmet that distinguishes him, no longer seems a general but only an ordinary expendable soldier.

The martyrdom of Christ returns in the equally vast painting by Pier Antonio Bernabei. Mary stands out on the left, with her hands joined in prayer and Mary Magdalene, in the center with the red robe, loose hair and open arms in dismay. While the Apostle John turns his gaze to the viewer, suggesting with the gesture of his hands to focus on the suffering of Jesus, the two women are unable to take their eyes off their son and teacher, in a contemplation full of pain.

The Crucifix, the Virgin and Saints

The Virgin's gaze, as in the previous representations, is turned to her own son. He has a light aura around his head, as well as the Saints.

In the center instead Mary Magdalene, with the classic red dress and with her expressiveness of pain for the sad event. On the right instead Saint John with his finger indicates the main moment.

Below the skull, a recurrent symbol in religious compositions, from crucifixions to saints. It is a symbol of the Memento Mori, a reminder that death is inevitable.

Among
the saints depicted in the Art Gallery is Agnes,
in a painting from the school of Guercino: she was a young girl
belonging to one of the most powerful aristocratic families of Rome,
who at the age of twelve was martyred under the Emperor Diocletian.
The aristocratic status is suggested by the precious fabric of the
robes and earrings. Although represented here in a more mature age,
it is accompanied by its canonical attributes: the palm of martyrdom
and the lamb, symbol of humility and innocence, like Agnes pierced in
the throat during sacrifices.

The expressive face of the Saint is surrounded by a halo represented not by drawing but only through color, as if to give a more "ethereal" breath to the figure.

The small touches of colour can also be seen in the saint’s dress. With a juxtaposition of colours, the most luminous and shady parts are created.

The symbols are also represented, such as the lamb, here represented with the head turned, and the palm, symbol of the martyrdom of the young saint because of the Romans.

Famous for her sincere devotion to the Saints was Isabella d’Este, Duchess of Parma and Piacenza by her marriage to Ranuccio II Farnese. Immortalized by Frans Denys in a pendant of the portrait of her spouse, the sovereign is perhaps in the palace of Colorno, judging by the porch that opens behind her. She holds a watch in her right hand, a precious object that confirms her high social status, but it is also a symbol of the fleetingness of existence.

The ornaments and decorations underline the social status of Isabella d'Este, such as pearls or rich gold embroidery.

The sense of wealth and upper class is also evident from the clock, a pocket watch tied to a chain full of sparkling details.

In the Finding of the True Cross, a "sketch" copy of an altarpiece by Sebastiano Ricci, Francesco Fontebasso depicts Helena [photo S], mother of Constantine, the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity. According to tradition, during a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, she would have found the cross on which Jesus had been martyred. The ecstatic gaze faces the sky, where angels and cherubs float carrying symbols of Christ's Passion.

The angelic figures occupy the northern part of the composition, with a type of clear light that sees the inspiration of this work in keeping with one of Sebastiano Ricci.

Saint Helena observes either the winged figure on the left of the composition holding the spear firmly in her arm, perhaps a reference to Longinus' spear, or the cross, where Christ was crucified.

If this episode has its roots in legend, it is instead historically attested that it has as its protagonist the nun Lucrezia Buti in the painting by Emilio Scherer. The scene is set in the monastery of Santa Caterina di Prato, where Lucrezia was forced to take her vows. There is an easel on the right with a painting sketched by the Carmelite friar and painter Filippo Lippi. The courtship depicted precedes Lippi's kidnapping of the woman, with whom he allegedly had two children. The union between the nun and the artist was strongly opposed by the Roman Curia; in order to quell the scandal, Cosimo il Vecchio de' Medici, the Lord of Florence himself, obtains a dispensation for marriage from the Pontiff. It was however, never celebrated again.

The main point of the composition is here the contact between Lucrezia Buti and Filippo Lippi, where the nun does not seem to indulge her lover, rejecting him.

Gardina
Tosi
also
truly existed in a posthumous portrait by Daniele de Strobel. To
create it, the painter used a photograph changing its dress and
setting. The flowers held in Gardina's hand are withered to allude to
her early death. Through soft colors combined with refinement,
Strobel returns the sensitive and melancholic soul of the child in a
mixture of affection and introspective ability.

The technique used shuns drawing to build the scene only through long brushstrokes and quick touches, with a final sense more of pictorial than of drawing.

The moment can be inscribed in a triangle: on the left the flowers in life, on the right Gardina's steady gaze, at the bottom the withered flowers, a reminder of premature death of the girl.

Also
in Fior di loto by Amedeo Bocchi the female figure is accompanied by
flowers. The young
woman dressed in white
is in fact immersed in nature, on the edge of a basin of the
Botanical Garden of Parma. Her legs are crossed, her torso leaning to
the left, her flowing hair gathered and the dreamy gaze turned in
front of her. The large leaves of the lotus behind her open
luxuriantly with white flowers that match the color of the dress
peeking out: some are still closed, others are opening, to symbolize
the different periods of existence that awaits the protagonist.

Fior di loto

In this composition the technique again shuns from the drawing to focus instead on the touches of color close to each other. Despite this, naturalism is not sacrificed.

The colour of the plants in the foreground differs from the background elements. Here they are more pictorial and sketchy, with a lighter color and quicker touches.

Despite the sacrifice of drawing, the distinctive and anatomical features of the female figure are defined and detailed.