Abstract
This paper presents a hypothetical reconstruction of the architectural apparatus designed to house Perugino’s altarpiece for the high altar of the Basilica of San Pietro in Perugia, developed within an interdisciplinary research group. The sources record the 1495 contract commissioning Perugino to paint the altarpiece and decorate its wooden frame, carved by Giovanni da Verona, and the construction of a “cassa” redesigned by Perugino and adorned with roundels of the prophets Isaiah and David. Dimensional data on the panels show that the iconostasis model proposed by Walter Bombe in 1914, and the variants derived from it, are affected by an error of proportion.
Following a comparison of alternative configurations, the study proposes a new reconstruction in which the frame is based on the one carved by Bernardino di Lazzaro for Domenico Alfani’s altarpiece at Castel Rigone, about three decades later. Scaled on the Ascension panel, the frame yields pilasters of approximately one Perugian foot (36.35 cm), the module of the Castel Rigone frame, supporting the hypothesis that the latter was modeled on the San Pietro frame. The case combines the box-like structure of examples by Benozzo Gozzoli and Defendente Ferrari with the portal type with corner roundels found in Perugino’s frescoes, while the decoration draws on motifs used by Perugino and in the local artistic context. Perspective and axonometric views place the altar in the apse, in relation to the wooden choir as it appeared in the 1530s. The results support the hypothesis, advanced by Andrea De Marchi, of an exemplary typological scheme for Renaissance altar frames, and demonstrate the effectiveness of representation, in dialogue with art history, architecture and restoration, in testing and communicating reconstruction hypotheses.
Citation
Menchetelli, V., Cotana, F. (2023). “Certi architettonici adornamenti”. Ipotesi ricostruttiva della macchina d’altare di San Pietro [“Certi architettonici adornamenti”: A Hypothetical Reconstruction of the San Pietro Altar Machine]. In L. Teza (Ed.), Il Perugino di San Pietro. La pala d’altare dell’abbazia benedettina di Perugia (pp. 103–114). Milano: Dario Cimorelli Editore. ISBN 9791255610274.