This article focuses on a single-sheet engraving, which was devised by Tomasz Treter, Polish canon of the Roman church of Santa Maria in Trastevere, and engraved by Giovanni Battista de’ Cavalieri. Published in Rome in 1574, the print shows an unusual image, an altar cross formed by juxtaposed scenes of the life of Christ, whose significance has up until now been misunderstood. The burin is actually an allegorical representation of the act of signing and its figurative components evoke the mysteries hidden in the act itself. Starting from an overview of Treter’s personality, the article reconstructs the cultural background that produced such an image and contextualizes the print’s creation in a precise historical moment. The Allegory of the sign of the Cross, as we can call it, was the product of an intensified interest in the theme of signing that springs from the teaching of the "dottrina cristiana" and, ultimately, from the anti-Protestant polemic. The article will locate the precedents of such a representation, and will conclude by focusing on the only known copy of Treter’s print, appearing in Mexican Franciscan Diego Valadés’ Rhetorica Christiana (Perugia 1579), and on the differences between this version of the Allegory and the original.
Gallori, C. T., Un’Allegoria del segno della Croce tra Polonia, Italia e Messico, <<MITTEILUNGEN DES KUNSTHISTORISCHEN INSTITUTES IN FLORENZ>>, 2013; LV (2): 238-265 [http://hdl.handle.net/10807/74895]
Un’Allegoria del segno della Croce tra Polonia, Italia e Messico
Gallori, Corinna TaniaPrimo
2013
Abstract
This article focuses on a single-sheet engraving, which was devised by Tomasz Treter, Polish canon of the Roman church of Santa Maria in Trastevere, and engraved by Giovanni Battista de’ Cavalieri. Published in Rome in 1574, the print shows an unusual image, an altar cross formed by juxtaposed scenes of the life of Christ, whose significance has up until now been misunderstood. The burin is actually an allegorical representation of the act of signing and its figurative components evoke the mysteries hidden in the act itself. Starting from an overview of Treter’s personality, the article reconstructs the cultural background that produced such an image and contextualizes the print’s creation in a precise historical moment. The Allegory of the sign of the Cross, as we can call it, was the product of an intensified interest in the theme of signing that springs from the teaching of the "dottrina cristiana" and, ultimately, from the anti-Protestant polemic. The article will locate the precedents of such a representation, and will conclude by focusing on the only known copy of Treter’s print, appearing in Mexican Franciscan Diego Valadés’ Rhetorica Christiana (Perugia 1579), and on the differences between this version of the Allegory and the original.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.