MARIGLIANO, Giovanni

Marigliano’s altar of the Madonna della Neve (Virgin of the Snow) in the Cappella Madonna della Neve of San Domenico Maggiore represents a more classical solution than his earlier Madonna del Soccorso (1532) in Sant’Anna dei Lombardi, Naples.

Marigliano’s altar of the Madonna della Neve (Virgin of the Snow) in the Cappella Madonna della Neve of San Domenico Maggiore represents a more classical solution than his earlier Madonna del Soccorso (1532) in Sant’Anna dei Lombardi, Naples.

The grandiose tomb of the Viceroy of Naples (reg 1532-53) and his consort, Don Pedro of Toledo and Maria Ossorio Pimental, combines Lombard influences with Giovanni Angelo Montorsoli’s classical style, derived from Michelangelo.

By Roman standards the cenotaph is strikingly unorthodox. It consists of a square platform, with the figures of the Viceroy and his wife at the front corners, kneeling in prayer. On the faces of the platform are the epitaph and three scenes from the Viceroy’s life, and beneath is a second platform, at the corners of which are projecting consoles with four statues of Virtues.

Vasari tells us that the tomb was to be dispatched to Spain (like the earlier monument by Marigliano, which is at Bellpuig), and though there is some doubt whether this is correct there can be no doubt that Spain is its source of inspiration. Through the first quarter of the sixteenth century Spanish sculptors were at work in Naples.

The picture shows one of the four Virtues.

Marigliano received the commission for the High Altar of the church of San Lorenzo Maggiore in 1528. The High Altar with the statues of Sts Lawrence (Lorenzo), Francis and Anthony, belongs to the best works by the artist. It reflects the influence of the Spanish Bartolom� Ord�ñez, who arrived in Naples in the early years of the second decade of the sixteenth century. In the layout the references to Donatello are very strong.

Marigliano received the commission for the High Altar of the church of San Lorenzo Maggiore in 1528. The High Altar with the statues of Sts Lawrence (Lorenzo), Francis and Anthony, belongs to the best works by the artist. It reflects the influence of the Spanish Bartolom� Ord�ñez, who arrived in Naples in the early years of the second decade of the sixteenth century. In the layout the references to Donatello are very strong.

In 1532 Marigliano completed the altar of the Madonna del Soccorso (Virgin of Succour), commissioned by the Liguoro family, a pendant to another altar by Girolamo Santacroce for the del Pezzo family in the same church. Both follow earlier Tuscan models, and the juxtaposition highlights Marigliano’s awkward figure designs and his dependence on other sculptors’ formulae.

Giovanni Marigliano (Giovanni Nola) was active in Naples. His unorthodox work is the Monument of Don Pedro of Toledo in San Giacomo degli Spagnuoli. Don Pedro, Viceroy of Naples and father-in-law of Cosimo I, died in Florence and was buried in the Duomo after he had commissioned the monument for himself and his wife. Vasari relates that he had intended to transport it to Spain. Instead, it was erected in Naples around 1570.

The monument includes three reliefs depicting his military and diplomatic accomplishments and at the corners four cardinal virtues. They are reminiscent of Florentine court sculpture, and have a slight Spanish accent.

Around 1524 Marigliano carved crib figures for Santa Maria del Parto at the request of the humanist Jacopo Sannazzaro (1458-1530). Only five statuettes of the precious complex are preserved, among which those of St Joseph and the Virgin stand out, showing similarities with the early works of Girolamo Santacroce. This commission was particularly significant, because it shows that Marigliano was esteemed by the famous humanist, connoisseur of antiquity, who exercised a strong influence on the culture of Naples.

Around 1524 Marigliano collaborated on the marble tomb of Don Ram�n Folch de Cardona, Viceroy of Sicily and Naples, a monument that reflects Andrea Sansovino’s tomb designs and the decorative style imported by the Spanish sculptor Bartolom� Ordoñez. It is considered one of the best Renaissance works in Catalonia.

Ramon Folch de Cardona-Anglesola (1467-1522) was a Spanish general and politician, who served as the viceroy of Naples during the Italian Wars and commanded the Spanish forces in Italy during the War of the League of Cambrai. When he died, his wife Isabel de Requesens commissioned Giovanni Marigliano to build a lavish mausoleum to house the remains of the soldier and sailor from Bellpuig.

The mausoleum had to be transported by parts to the convent of Sant Bartomeu in Bellpuig, where the body of Ram�n Folch de Cardona was buried. The abandonment of the convent after its ecclesiastical confiscation prompted in 1841 the relocation of the tomb to the parish church Sant Nicolau where it is now located on one side of the church.

Around 1524 Marigliano collaborated on the marble tomb of Don Ram�n Folch de Cardona, Viceroy of Sicily and Naples, a monument that reflects Andrea Sansovino’s tomb designs and the decorative style imported by the Spanish sculptor Bartolom� Ordoñez. It is considered one of the best Renaissance works in Catalonia.

Ramon Folch de Cardona-Anglesola (1467-1522) was a Spanish general and politician, who served as the viceroy of Naples during the Italian Wars and commanded the Spanish forces in Italy during the War of the League of Cambrai. When he died, his wife Isabel de Requesens commissioned Giovanni Marigliano to build a lavish mausoleum to house the remains of the soldier and sailor from Bellpuig.

The mausoleum had to be transported by parts to the convent of Sant Bartomeu in Bellpuig, where the body of Ram�n Folch de Cardona was buried. The abandonment of the convent after its ecclesiastical confiscation prompted in 1841 the relocation of the tomb to the parish church Sant Nicolau where it is now located on one side of the church.