P a g . 1 | 44 · is located in the Civic Museum of Cremona. The painting portrays a child who...
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Transcript of P a g . 1 | 44 · is located in the Civic Museum of Cremona. The painting portrays a child who...
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This guide is written
in the language that is easy to read
and to understand.
This language
helps people
with or without disabilities
to understand better
difficult information.
The language easy to read
and to understand
is the part of an European Project
which is called
Pathways II.
Association Anffas Onlus
has participated
in this project.
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In this guide
we described
some of the paintings from the Exhibition
and wrote the numbers of the rooms
where we can find these paintings.
In the first room there are:
1- The Punishment of Core, Dathan and Abiram (?)
2- The Sacrifice of Isaac
3- Lute Player
In the second room there are:
4- Saint Sebastian Cured by Saint Irene
5- The Adoration of the Kings
In the narrow corridor there are:
6- Saint Bonaventura in the Studio
7- The Birth of Saint Charles Borromeo
8- The Death of Saint Charles Borromeo
9- Sleeping Cupid (Vanitas)
10- Domestic interiors with Figures
In the third room there are:
11- Zenobia, Queen of Palmyra
12- Portrait of a Gentleman
13- Portrait of Sigismondo Ponzone
In the fourth room there are:
14- Miracle of the Mule
15- The Birth of the Virgin
16- The Beheading of Saint Paul
17- The Presentation of the Virgin at the Temple
In the last room there are:
18- Miracle of Blessed Bernardo Tolomei
19- The Martyrdom of Saint Orsola
20- The Glory of Saint Orsola
21- Saint Lucy
22- Rest on the Flight into Egypt
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The real name of Genovesino
was Luigi Miradori.
He is called Genovesino
because the scholars
believed he was born in Genoa.
His date of birth
is still unknown
but it has to be between 1605 and 1610.
Genovesino
was in Piacenza in 1632.
He worked for the Farnese family
in Piacenza.
Genovesino was in Cremona
in 1637.
In Cremona
he worked for the religious people.
In the paintings of Genovesino
we can see the images
of the ordinary life
and also some fantasy images.
Nowadays we can find his works of art
in many museums
and private collections
all over the world.
Genovesino died in Cremona
in 1656.
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1. Title of the painting: The Punishment of Core, Dathan and Abiram (?) / Punizione di Core, Dathan e Abiram (?)
This painting
is located in Parma.
This painting
shows an episode from the Old Testament.
The Old Testament
is the first part of the Bible
which was until the birth of Jesus.
The episode is about God
who punishes Core, Dathan and Abiran
with a fire.
God punishes Core, Dathan and Abiram
because they wanted the rights of priests
and they argued with Moses and Aron.
In the painting
there are differences between agitated movements
of some characters
and more calm movements
of other characters.
All the characters
light the incense on the altar
to ask God
who has the rights of the priests.
After the apparition of God
people who had argued with Moses and Aron
fell on the ground or got burned
with the fire which comes from the sky.
The first time they talked about this painting
was in 1734.
In this painting
we see lot of brush strokes.
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Since Genovesino made a lot of brush strokes
the painting seems to be made very quickly.
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2. Title of the painting: The Sacrifice of Isaac / Sacrificio di Isacco
This painting
is located in a private collection in London.
This beautiful painting
was founded in 2016.
This is a first time
we can see it in an Exhibition.
The painting illustrates an episode from the Bible
when God asked Abraham
to kill his son in order to
show his faith to God.
When Abraham is about to kill his son
an angel arrived and showed a ram,
so he could kill it
instead of his son.
This painting is interesting
because it is an example
of how Genovesino painted
when he was young.
By looking at this painting
we can see that Genovesino
was influenced by
a painter
called Caravaggio.
In this painting
Genovesino used colours like others painters did
such as Orazio Gentileschi
or Gioacchino Assereto.
The scholars
believe that Genovesino painted this painting
when he was in Piacenza around 1630.
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The lying body of Isaac
is the same as the one in a painting
called
Saint Sebastian Cured by Saint Irene,
painted by Bartolomeo Schedoni.
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3. Title of the painting: Lute Player / Suonatrice di liuto
This painting
is located in Genoa.
In this painting
we can see a girl
who plays the lute.
The lute is a musical instrument
similar to guitar.
The girl looks to the musical score with a great attention.
The musical score is a sheet of paper
where the musical notes are written.
On the table there is some jewellery
and in the empty space above
there is a skull.
Next to the girl
there is an open bag with dinars.
Above, on the left-hand side
there is a burned sheet of paper.
These objects
indicate that this painting
is about Vanitas.
The Vanitas is a thought
that reminds us that the time goes by for everyone
and that all of us die.
The scholars still do not know
who was the owner
or where the painting was located.
This painting was painted
around 1640.
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4. Title of the painting: Saint Sebastian Cured by Saint Irene / San Sebastiano curato da Sant’Irene
This painting
is located in Genoa.
In this painting
we can see Saint Sebastian who is still alive
but wounded by the arrows.
Saint Irene, Lucina and an angel
try to take care of Saint Sebastian.
We can see how the body of Saint Sebastian
is bent diagonally
and leaves in the background the others characters.
The only free space in this painting
is above on the left-hand side
where a bit of landscape is seen.
The faces of the characters
and the body of the saint
are seen very clearly.
Scholars believe that
this is the first known painting
of Genovesino.
This painting
reminds us of some painters
passed through Genoa
like Orazio Gentileschi or Simon Vouet.
This painting
reminds us also
some painters born in Genoa
like Bernardo Strozzi.
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5. Title of the painting: Adoration of the Kings / Adorazione dei Magi
This painting
is located in Parma.
The characters are close one to another
in a very limited space.
On the left-hand side of the painting
there are Madonna and Saint Joseph.
The characters are dressed in a simple way.
On the right-hand side of the painting
are the Kings,
dressed in a very elegant way.
We can see the Baby Jesus
who plays with the pieces of gold
which are inside of the wooden box
while the King observes him.
The way in which the characters are situated
resembles to a Dutch engraving from 1594.
An engraving is a design
made with the object which cuts grooves
on the design surface.
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6. Title of the painting: Saint Bonaventura in the studio / San
Bonaventura nello studio
This small painting
is located in a private collection.
It is the only painting
of Genovesino made on the copper.
Painting on the cooper
allows making very small details
with a light and brilliant colours.
In this painting
we can see the Saint
who stopped his writing to
look at the crucifix in front of him.
The objects
inside the room
are not visible very well.
Among these objects there are
robe with a patch,
a wooden table
and a red hat of cardinal
which the Saint left on the ground.
These objects make us believe
that this is a real room
inside a monastery.
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7. Title of the painting: The Birth of Saint Charles Borromeo /
Nascita di San Carlo Borromeo
The painting of Saint Charles Borromeo
is a small painting
which illustrates a moment of female servants
prepare a bath for a newborn.
A newborn
is a baby
who was born recently.
In the background on the right-hand side
there is a bed where lies the mother of the baby.
The mother of the baby is Margherita Medici of Marignano
who was the sister of the Pope Pio IV.
This painting
is located in the chapel of San Carlo Borromeo
in the Church of Santi Donnino e Carlo.
This church
is located in via Bissolati
and nowadays is abandoned.
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8. Title of the painting: The Death of Saint Charles Borromeo /
Morte di San Carlo Borromeo
In the painting The Death of Saint Carlo Borromeo
there is Saint Charles who lies on the bed
with the crucifix on the chest.
Close to him
there are two small clerics with the candles
and a priest
who gives the Extreme Unction to Saint Charles.
The Extreme Unction
is a blessing which is given with the oil
for a person who is about to die.
In front of the bed of Saint Charles
there are two angels
who take the soul of the saint into heaven.
This painting
was located in the chapel of San Carlo Borromeo
in the Church of Santi Donnino e Carlo.
This church is located
in via Bissolati
and nowadays is abandoned.
This painting
and the painting of The Birth of Saint Charles Borromeo
were placed in a wooden cornice.
In this wooden cornice
there were other images about life of Saint Charles.
These images
are not there anymore.
In the middle of this wooden cornice
there was a wooden statue made by Francesco Pescaroli.
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This wooden statue
presented Saint Charles on the knees in front of the Virgin.
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9. Title of the painting: Sleeping Cupid (Vanitas) / Cupido dormiente
(Vanitas)
This painting
is located in the Civic Museum of Cremona.
The painting
portrays a child
who represents Cupid.
Cupid was the god of love.
Cupid sits on a big book
he has an arrow in his left hand,
and he leans the right arm on a skull.
A toad comes out from the mouth of this skull.
On the right-hand side
we can see a vase of flowers
which is connected with the topic of Vanitas.
The Vanitas is a thought
that reminds us that the time goes by for everyone
and that everybody dies.
There are people
who think that this vase
is not made by Genovesino.
These people
think that the vase of flowers
is made by a Belgium painter.
To see how Genovesino
could paint like a Belgium painter
we can see the cornice with flowers and children
in the corridor between the first and the second room.
The cornice with flowers and children
which we see during this Exhibition
is a picture
which is in Codogno.
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10. Title of the painting: Domestic interiors with Figures / Interno
domestico con figure
This painting
is located in an art collection in Milan.
The first time they talked about the painting was
in 1920.
The topic and the characters
of this painting are not well known.
We can see
a silent room of a house
which has a table.
Around this table
we can see several serious and elegant men.
These men
are dressed like the spanish people from the epoch.
The spanish people from that epoch
were always dressed in black suits with white collars
and white shirts
which were seen from the sleeves.
On the right part
we can see a sitting woman
who is about to coddle
a new born baby.
Still on the right part
we can see another woman
who makes a pillow.
On the left-hand side
we can see a little girl who sews
and she is close to a small dog
who moves his tail.
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The background of this painting
is divided into three parts.
In the central part
there is the entrance to this room
through a door.
On the left-hand side there is a monk
who looks like he prays.
On the right-hand side there is a woman
who looks in the direction of men.
Probably Genovesino painted this painting
around 1630.
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10. Title of the painting: Zenobia, Queen of Palmyra / Zenobia,
regina di Palmira
This painting
is located in a private collection.
We can see
an image of a character
who was represented few times.
This character
is Settimia Zenobia
who was the queen of the city of Palmyra.
Zenobia was enslaved
by the Roman emperor Aureliano
and was put in chains
in the city of Rome.
Zenobia lived as a prisoner
in the Villa of Tivoli close to Rome.
In the documents about her
it is written that she had a light skin
white teeth
and two big dark eyes.
In this image
Zenobia wears a veil
because she had lost her husband.
Zenobia leans her right arm
on a skull.
Above on the left-hand side
there is a burned piece of paper
which is about
the city of Jerusalem.
This piece of paper
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makes a comparison
between Zenobia and Jerusalem
as it mentions that Jerusalem
is similar to a woman
who had lost her husband.
This painting
was one of the many paintings
which owned the Spanish Governor in Cremona in 1657.
Some scholars
believe that this painting
was one of the paintings in a group.
In this group
there were some images
of the very important women
like Lucrezia, Cleopatra and Artemisia.
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12. Title of the painting: Portrait of a Gentleman / Ritratto di
gentiluomo
This painting
is located in Mantua.
It is still unknown
who is the character
dressed elegantly.
This character
wears very expensive clothes
and he looks like a very serious person.
In the background
there are seen the ruins of the ancient buildings
for example
the column on the right-hand side.
In some old books
it is written that maybe it is
one of the many spanish officials
for whom Genovesino worked.
Genovesino made a lot of paintings
for the spanish officials who were in Cremona.
The painting illustrates
another elegant man
which we have seen in the second room.
The scholars believe
that Genovesino painted this painting
between 1651 and 1652.
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13. Title of the painting: Portrait of Sigismondo Ponzone / Ritratto
di Sigismondo Ponzone
This painting
is located in the Civic Museum of Cremona.
This character
is Sigismondo Ponzone
and when Genovesino painted him
he was four years old.
Sigismondo Ponzone was a member
of a very rich and important
Cremonese family.
Most of the paintings
which are in this Civic Museum
were the property of the Ponzone family.
In this painting
we can see how the child
holds the collar of the dog of the house
who is as tall as he.
The piece of paper which he holds in hands
shows the importance of the art
for the Ponzone family.
The elegance of the clothes
reminds us of some paintings of the painter
Anton Van Dyck.
Anton Van Dyck
was a painter who in this epoch
was in Genoa.
This painting of Genovesino
illustrates a child
with a very smart gaze.
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14. Title of the painting: Miracle of the Mule / Miracolo della mula
This painting
is located in a church in Soresina.
The painting
shows a miracle which happened in 1223
in the city of Rimini.
The owner of the mule
did not feed it
for three days.
One day
he brought the mule in square
and he put close to it
a bag full of food.
The mule does not eat the food
but comes closer to Saint Anthony
who comes out of the church
holding in hand the Host.
The story tells us
that the mule got down on its knees in front of the Host
because inside the Host was Jesus.
This painting
was ordered by the father Vincenzo Balconi
for the San Francesco Church in Cremona
We can see a portrait
of the father Vincenzo Balconi
in the previous room.
This painting was moved from the San Francesco Church in 1773
when the church had become a hospital.
The other painting
which were in the San Francesco Church
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nowadays are located
in the San Siro Church in Soresina
and in the Town Hall of Cremona.
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15. Title of the painting: The Birth of the Virgin / Nascita della
Vergine
This painting
is located in the Civic Museum of Cremona.
The painting The Birth of the Virgin
represents what
the Apocryphal Gospels describe.
An Apocryphal Gospel is a book
that describes episodes of the life of Jesus
which are not in the Bible.
On the left-hand side
we can see a female servant
who prepares a bath for the baby Mary.
On the right-hand side
we can see another female servant
looking at us.
This female servant
warms up a blanket
in front of the fireplace.
In the background on the right-hand side
there is Anna
the mother of the Virgin
who lies on the bed.
In the background on the left-hand side
we can see also Joachim
the father of the Virgin.
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16. Title of the painting: The Beheading of Saint Paul / Decollazione
di San Paolo
The painting The Beheading of Saint Paul
shows the moment when
the head of Saint Paul is being cut off.
The beheading
is the cutting off of the head.
Behind Saint Paul
there is a soldier with a sword,
who is about to cut off the head
of the Saint.
At the bottom right-hand side
there are two soldiers in armour.
On the upper left-hand side
there are two angles pointing at the sky.
They carry two objects.
These two objects are a palm leaf
and a crown of roses for the Saint.
The palm leaf and the crown of roses
were usually brought by the angles to the saints
when the saints were about to die
after having suffered a lot.
The paintings The Birth of the Virgin
and The Beheading of Saint Paul
were located inside the San Lorenzo Church in Cremona
and they were moved in 1798,
when the church was closed.
The two paintings
date back to the 1640s.
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17. Title of the painting: The Presentation of the Virgin at the Temple / Presentazione della vergine al tempio
This painting
is located in the San Marcellino Church in Cremona.
This church
used to be the Jesuit headquarters
in the city of Cremona.
The Jesuits are a group of clerics
who take care of the Christian education
of young people.
We can see
the moment when the Virgin Mary in a blue dress
climbs the stairs of a temple.
Having climbed the stairs
she gets on her knees in front of the priest
who blessed her.
In the upper part of the painting
we can see an angel and two children
throwing the roses
on the stairs.
At the bottom right-hand side
there two men
dressed in a different way.
At the bottom on the left-hand side
there is a woman dressed in an elegant way
and she carries the basket on the head.
In the background
we can see a church
which reminds us of the Church del Gesù in Rome.
The Church del Gesù
used to be Jesuit headquarters in Rome.
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The date of this painting is unknown
but it could be around 1645.
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18. Title of the painting: Miracle of Blessed Bernardo Tolomei / Miracolo del Beato Bernardo Tolomei
This painting
is located in a church in Soresina.
The painting shows a miracle
which was done by the Blessed Bernardo Tolomei.
Bernardo Tolomei created a monastery
at the beginning of 1300s.
At the bottom of this image
we can see the devil
who doesn't allow men to work.
The devil is a character
who has wings and a snake.
The Blessed sends away the devil
because he doesn't allow men who are around
to move the stones.
These men
tried to move the stones
but they didn't succeed.
When Genovesino painted this painting
they brought the painting
in San Lorenzo Church in Cremona.
In the San Lorenzo Church in Cremona
there were two other paintings
which we have seen in the Exhibition.
These two painting
were The Nativity of the Virgin
and The Beheading of Saint Paul.
In some old documents
is written that the character close to the Blessed
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was a monk from the Pueroni family.
In this exhibition
we can see the portrait of this monk alone
in front of the painting Miracle of Blessed Bernardo Tolomei.
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19. Title of the painting: The Martyrdom of Saint Orsola / Martirio di Sant’Orsola
This painting
is located in the San Marcellino Church in Cremona.
In this painting
we can see the story of the French princess Orsola.
Orsola was murdered in the city of Cologne
with another eleven thousand girls
by the army of the warrior Attila.
Here we can see a lot of movement
and very violent details.
At the bottom
we can see the wounded girls
and the warriors of Attila
who look very angry.
At the bottom we can also see two bishops
who are about to have their heads cut off.
These two bishops
are on their knees
and they are Bassano and Permerio.
In the background on the right-hand side
in the part with more bright colours
there is Saint Orsola with a crown on her head
and she remains completely still.
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20. Title of the painting: The Glory of Saint Orsola / Gloria di
Sant’Orsola
This painting
is located in the San Marcellino Church in Cremona.
In this painting
Saint Orsola is elevated above the city of Cologne
which we can see under the cloud.
At the foot of Saint Orsola
there are some angels
who carry the objects
with which the warriors of Attila
killed the Saint.
On the right-hand side
there are the other girls who are dead.
On the left-hand side
there are the men from the church
and some princes who are not religious.
We can see the bishop Bossano
dressed in a long, white and light blue tunic
with the bishop's hat.
To paint this painting
Genovesino copied some images
from Hermann Crombach’s book.
The Jesuits who were
in the San Marcellino Church
had a copy of this book.
The image of the city of Cologne
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is the same as the image
which was in Crombach’s book.
These paintings
were used in 1653
to make the San Marcellino Church
more beautiful.
In this year
they brought in this church
the remains of the body of Saint Bassano.
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21. Title of the painting: Saint Lucy / Santa Lucia
This painting
is located in a church in Castelponzone.
Saint Lucy wears a plum coloured cloak
and in her hands she holds the awl
and the kind of chalice with her eyes.
There are two angels
who carry the palm leaf and a crown of roses.
The palm leaf and the crown of roses
were usually brought by the angles to the saints
when the saints were about to die
after having suffered a lot.
At the bottom on the left-hand side
there are two pieces of wood
which are still burning.
These two pieces of wood
remind us that Saint Lucy
was burned to death.
The Castelponzone’s church
where this painting is located
was constructed by the Ponzone family.
Genovesino
had contacts with the Ponzone family.
The parish Archive of Castelponzone
was written the year 1654
about the picture of this painting.
Close to this painting
we can see another Saint Lucy
who is smaller and with brighter colours.
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22. Title of the painting: Rest on the Flight into Egypt / Riposo
durante la fuga in Egitto
This painting
is located in the Sant’Imerio Church in Cremona.
On the left-hand side
we can see the Virgin who looks with attention at the Baby Jesus
while she sits on the bag.
Farther on the right-hand side there is Joseph
who is in the middle of the painting
because this painting had to be put
in the Saint Joseph altar.
Therefore the altar was named Saint Joseph
he is in the middle of the painting
because like that we can see him more easily.
Every angel who is in the painting
is making a different movement
like the the Apocryphal Gospels describe.
An Apocryphal Gospel is a book
that describes episodes of the life of Jesus
which are not in the Bible.
The destroyed buildings
which are seen on the left-hand side
mean the end of the pagan world.
Pagan means someone
who doesn't believe in the Christian God
but has his own god.
In the background
it is seen The Massacre of the Innocents.
The Massacre of the Innocents
was ordered by the Roman king Herod
to kill all the male children
and in this way to kill the Baby Jesus.
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In some old documents
it is written that Genovesino
painted the characters
with the features of his relatives.
The Virgin who we can see here
has the face of the wife of Genovesino
and some of the angels
have the faces of the children of Genovesino.
This painting is located in the Sant’Imerio Church
but in a different chapel
that in the beginning.
The date of this painting is 1651
and it is one of the main works of Genovesino.
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If you arrive here
it means that you finished visiting the Exhibition.
If you want to leave the Museum
you have to come back
the same way you entered.
If you want to continue visiting the Museum
you must move forward.
Remember that when your visit in the Museum is finished
you have to come back
the same way you entered.
Besides the paintings of Genovesino
which you have already seen in this exhibition
you can go and see other paintings
in following places below:
• the Cremona Cathedral
• the Town Hall of Cremona
• the San Siro Church in Soresina
• the Santa Maria dei Sabbioni Church in Cappella Cantone
Bear in mind that in these places
you can enter free of charge.
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This guide in the language that is easy to read and to understand
is created
by Anffas Cremona Onlus Association.
To create this guide
people with and without disabilities
worked together.
To create this guide
Anffas Cremona Onlus
collaborated with
the Museums network of Cremona
and the association CrArT.
This guide was created
for the Ci sei Musei? project
approved by the Municipality of Cremona.
