Salvi Castellucci, who was born in Arezzo, trained in Rome under Pietro da Cortona.
Città di Castello
Scenes from the Life of Blessed Margherita (1662)
Fr. Lorenzo Giustini commissioned these frescoes os scenes from the life of the Blessed Margherita of Città di Castello in the lower storey of the cloister of San Domenico. Each of the frescoes has a painted inscription describing the scene. Some of the scenes are now ruined and others have been heavily restored. The first five are by the aged Giovanni Battista Pacetti, lo Sguazzino. They include these two, which depict:
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✴the Blessed Margherita receiving the Dominican habit; and
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✴the funeral of the the Blessed Margherita.
After the death of lo Sguazzino, Salvi Castellucci painted the other 27 lunettes and the frescoes of Dominican saints:
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✴the date 1662 appears in the inscription under the fresco in which the Blessed Margherita educates the children of Venturino (her adoptive father); and
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✴the same date appears in two inscriptions that also contain the signature “SC”, under:
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•Blessed Margherita cures the blindness of Sister Venturella; and
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•the resurrection of Giustolo da Marzano.
Orvieto
Scenes from the lives of Christ and the Virgin (1647)
The will (1647) of Giovanni Battista Cecchetti included a bequest to his sister Giulia, who was a nun at the Monastero del Buon Gesù, that was to be used to commission Salvi Castellucci to decorate the “frontespizio” (almost certainly the apse) of church and the vaults. In fact, this work is attributed on stylistic grounds to Giovanni Maria Colombi
Presentation of the Virgin Presentation of Christ Visitation
The works comprise:
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✴a panel of the Presentation of Christ, above the high altar; and
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✴the following frescoes in the apse:
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•three in the vaults:
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-the Adoration of the Magi (to the left);
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-the baby Jesus in glory; and
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-the Nativity (to the right); and
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•two on the walls:
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-Presentation of the Virgin (to the left); and
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-the Visitation.
Work in the Oratorio della Misericordia (1664-6)
These frescoes depict
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✴God the Father with allegories of abundance, peace and charity(illustrated here);
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✴the annunciation to Zacharius;
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✴the birth of St John the Baptist, which is signed by Salvi Castellucci and dated by inscription to 1666;
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✴the families of Christ and St John the Baptist;
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✴an angel feeds St John the Baptist;
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✴a publican begs St John the Baptist to baptise him;
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✴St John the Baptist points to Jesus and two disciples;
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✴St John the Baptist in prison;
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✴the preaching of St John the Baptist;
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✴St John the Baptist baptising people; and
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✴the beheading of St John the Baptist.
Read more:
L. Fornasari, “Salvi Castellucci, Pittore Aretino e Allievo di Pietro da Cortona”, (1996) Città di Castello
G. Sapori and B. Toscano, “Pittura del Seicento e del Settecento: Ricerche in Umbria 4: L' Antica Diocesi di Orvieto”, (2006) Treviso. In particular, see the article here:
L. Carsillo, “Lanfranco, Castellucci, Colombi: il Seicencto a Orvieto” pp 31-4
These two works differ in their attributions of works to Salvi Castellucci and Giovanni Maria Colombi: I have followed the latter.
Return to Art in: Città di Castello Orvieto.
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