A fresco depicting Saint Anthony the Abbot in the Church of the Saints Peter and Paul in Città della Pieve

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Detail of the fresco by Perugino entitled "Saint Anthony Abbot between Saints Paul the Hermit and Marcellus" and preserved inside the Church of Saints Peter and Paul in Città della Pieve. In the main scene, Saint Anthony Abbot is painted in the centre, seated on an elegant raised throne from which two lanterns hang. While looking intently at the observer, the Saint has his right hand raised and his left hand resting on his stick, an object with which he is usually depicted in sacred paintings. Saint Anthony Abbot is flanked by Saint Paul the Hermit and Saint Marcellus, as indicated by the inscription at the base of the throne. In 1861, an earthquake hit the church and damaged the fresco. The work was then transferred to a canvas and restored, but it was not possible to restore it to its original state due to colour fading in much of the artwork.

A fresco depicting Saint Anthony the Abbot in the Church of the Saints Peter and Paul in Città della Pieve

In Città della Pieve, in the Church of the Saints Peter and Paul that dated back to the thirteenth century, in the very first years of the sixteenth century Perugino painted a fresco showing Saint Anthony the Abbot, between the Saints Paul the Hermit and Marcel.

The Church of the Saints Peter and Paul in Città della Pieve

The church was built in one of the most scenic areas of the place, whence you will be able to admire the Valdichiana valley underneath while in front of you there stand out Mount Cetona and some little towns of Tuscany: Chiusi, Chianciano, Montepulciano. The church was headquarters to the Brotherhood of the Disciplinati (penitents) of the Holy Savior, and up until 1815 was dedicated to Saint Anthony the Abbot.

The fresco: composition

Perugino painted this fresco, depicting Saint Anthony the Abbot together with the Saints Paul the Hermit and Marcel, on the back wall in the building. As a matter of fact, it is a faux altarpiece, square-shaped and surmounted by a lunette. Both sides of it are embellished with grotesques, a peculiar type of painted decoration that here also works as a frame around the fresco. This kind of painted frame, which dated back to the Roman Era, would in fact be rediscovered and reused by the Renaissance masters.

In the middle, Saint Anthony the Abbot between Saint Paul the Hermit and Saint Marcel

In the main scene Saint Anthony the Abbot is depicted in the middle, seated on a refined raised throne out of which two lamps are hanging. Looking directly at “us,” the saint raises his right hand while the left lies on a staff, an object usually associated with him in the history of art. The Abbot – as an inscription at the base of the throne indicates – is flanked by the Saints Paul the Hermit and Marcel.

In the upper lunette Perugino showed the blessing Christ encircled by putti, i.e. naked and winged children as can be seen in most of his works of sacred art.

The damages caused by the 1861 earthquake

In 1861 an earthquake shook the town, causing many damages to the church too, and consequently to the fresco. What remained of it was transferred to canvas, and later on, restored. The marks of the earthquake, however, are still clearly visible, especially wide losses of pigments, that makes it now more difficult to detect details and appreciate the whole. In spite of this, it still is a fine example of Perugino’s art in his late years.

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Overall view of the fresco. In the centre, there is Saint Sebastian tied to a column, his head and gaze turned upwards and his body is pierced by three arrows, two on his chest and one on his right leg. He is completely naked, except from a cloth covering his hips. On the left, there is part of a human figure showing a bleeding wound on the left inner thigh (presumably St. Roch) wearing a short tunic and another one on the right wearing a long tunic holding a key in his right hand (probably St. Peter).

“Saint Sebastian between the Saints Roch and Peter” in the Church of the Assumption of Mary, Cerqueto

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visione d’insieme dell’affresco del Martirio di San Sebastiano realizzato dal Perugino nella chiesa dell’omonimo Santo che si trova a Panicale. Al centro della scena, su una piazza pavimentata, si trova un piedistallo sopra il quale San Sebastiano è legato a una colonna, nudo e trafitto da due frecce. Il suo corpo ricorda le statue dell’epoca classica, mentre l’espressione del viso lascia trasparire un atteggiamento arrendevole, tipico della figura del martire cristiano che sacrifica la propria vita per la fede di Dio. Tre arcieri e un balestriere, divisi in due coppie, sono collocati alla destra e alla sinistra del piedistallo su cui poggia i piedi il Santo. Sullo sfondo si trova un’architettura composta da cinque arcate e un ampio paesaggio in secondo piano si intravede dietro gli archi. Nella parte superiore dell’affresco, Perugino dipinge Dio Padre all’interno di un globo di luce mentre sta compiendo il rito della benedizione, circondato ai lati da angeli.

The Martyrdom of Saint Sebastian

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Fragments of the fresco 'Deposition from the Cross' by Perugino. In the centre of the image, a man at the foot of the cross holds two ladders resting on the arms of the cross. The unconscious body of the Madonna lies on the ground on the left side of the fresco. The figure is surrounded by a group of women (some kneeling beside her, others standing) who observe the scene with sweet faces marked by grief. At the right bottom of the artwork, some Apostles witness the event.

The Deposition from the Cross in the Church of St. Mary of the Servants, Città della Pieve

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