Elvio Marchionni - Maternity

The subject of this work seems to draw more from the traditional iconography of the Holy Family than from the Mother of God. The Holy Family refers to the composition of Jesus' family. The traditional iconography of the Holy Families, which began to appear in Italian art as an independent subject in the second half of the 15th century, consistently features the central nucleus of the Child Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. The various variations on this iconographic model depend on the inclusion of additional figures who are related to Jesus, such as Saint Anne, mother of Mary, or the young Saint John, often included with a prophetic function of Christ's Passion.

In this bas-relief, Marchionni draws inspiration from Renaissance art not only for the thematic choice but also for the interpretative approach. In addition to seeking a perfectly naturalistic rendering of the subject, the artist creates a perfectly proportioned and calibrated composition. Regarding the space of the work, one might even call it a veritable citation: the inclusion of the round-arched loggias with the musician putti is a tribute to fifteenth-century humanist culture. The reference to Renaissance choirs such as those of Donatello is evident. However, Marchionni recontextualizes his sculpture, enlivening the surfaces with a rough, coloristic touch that produces an antique patina but also presupposes contemporary sculpture from Rodin onward.

Elvio Marchionni is an artist born in Spello in 1954. His entire artistic research is grounded in the recovery of memories and emotions from the past. His paintings appear like fragments of torn frescoes, references to 15th-century Umbrian painting, of which Marchionni is a great connoisseur. His sculptures presuppose a study of Renaissance harmony and proportion. However, this process of recovering memory merges, in Marchionni, with a careful exploration of artistic language in keeping with a contemporary sensibility.

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