Vittoriano
Pontiff on faldstool
Angevin milieu First quarter of 14th century
The pontiff, who is seated on a faldstool decorated with lion protomes, is wearing a chasuble, pallium, and tunic. He is wearing a tiara with lappets, geometrically woven and crown-shaped, with a diadem traversed by set stones. It is difficult to establish precisely the artifact's chronology, the pontiff’s identity, or the figurative culture of reference because of the rather compromised state of conservation. The only data that can be evinced with certainty is its function as an architectural sculpture since it is obvious that it was originally placed at the impost of two connecting arches.
The pontiff, who is seated on a faldstool decorated with lion protomes, is wearing a chasuble, pallium, and tunic. He is wearing a tiara with lappets, geometrically woven and crown-shaped, with a diadem traversed by set stones. It is difficult to establish precisely the artifact's chronology, the pontiff’s identity, or the figurative culture of reference because of the rather compromised state of conservation. The only data that can be evinced with certainty is its function as an architectural sculpture since it is obvious that it was originally placed at the impost of two connecting arches.
Details of work
Denomination: Pontiff on faldstool Milieu Angevin milieu Object date: First quarter of 14th century Material:
White marble, Marble, Stone
Technique:
Gilding, Sculpture
Dimensions: height 76.5 cm; width 33.5 cm
Typology:
Sculptures
Acquisition: Since 1919 at Museo di Palazzo Venezia
Main inventory number:
724
Catalog entry
An interesting dating proposal to the early fourteenth century has been put forward by Visconti (1887) and indirectly suggested by Romanini (1969), who speaks of a "relaxed late Gothic elegance." According to this hypothesis, the transalpine sculptural styles, which certainly prevailed over Arnolfo di Cambio's style, would have arrived in Rome via the southern French papal city of Avignon and the Angevin court of Robert of Anjou, who was head of the Guelph party in Italy and captain-general of the papal army, a papal vicar, and a Roman senator from the first quarter of the fifteenth century through the 1430s.
Claudia D'Alberto
State of conservation
Mediocre, as already indicated in Alessandro Tomei's 1979 OA file. The sculpture, much damaged, is missing its neck, the lower part of the face, forearms, and feet.
Restorations and analyses
Restorations: 1953; 1973; 1984; 2002–2003.
During the 1984 restoration, the 1953 plaster additions that connected the head to the body were removed. The two parts were then connected by a glass resin pin that is still present. Until 1979, traces of gilding were very evident.
Provenance
In 1887, Visconti first published the work following its discovery at the so-called Temple of Minerva Medica in Rome's Esquiline district. Held for several years in the Museo di Castel Sant'Angelo, since 1919 it has been kept in the Museo di Palazzo Venezia. Several different hypotheses have been put forward regarding the original architectural context of its provenance. Santangelo (1954) suggested a loggia or tabernacle, while Garms (1979) posited a portal due to the rather small size of the sculpture, but did not take into account the piece's two-sided construction.
References
Visconti C.L., Trovamenti di oggetti d’arte e di antichità figurate, in «Bollettino della Commissione Archeologica Comunale di Roma», 15, 1887, pp. 200-202;
Santangelo Antonino, Museo di Palazzo Venezia. Catalogo delle Sculture, Roma 1954, pp. 16-17;
Romanini Angiola Maria, Arnolfo di Cambio e lo “stil novo” del Gotico italiano, Milano 1969, p. 223
Garms Jörg, Bemerkungen zur römischen Skulptur des Mittelalter, in «Römische historische Mitteilungen», 21, 1979, pp. 145-159;
Gianandrea, in Barberini Maria Giulia, Tracce di Pietra. La collezione dei marmi di Palazzo Venezia, Roma 2008, pp. 209-2011, n. XLVI.
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