XII /1 Virgin with the Child
           unknown Umbrian sculptor
           carved and painted wood
           XIV century, start
           cm 134 x 47
           Milan, Buratti Zanchi collection

The statue, removed from the parish of the church of Saint Nicolò in Belfiore of Foligno by a local antique dealer, was purchased by Virgilio Buratti Zanchi: this transaction gave rise to a long controversy between the diocesan curia of Foligno and Buratti Zanchi which ended in 1966 in favour of the latter.
Finally, the work was recently purchased by the State for display in the Museo Nazionale del Ducato di Spoleto given that it represents a noteworthy example of a very well preserved product of the artistic workshops operating in southern Umbria: its rough carving and form are compensated for by the precisely coloured and detailed painting.
These artistic workshops, one of which was quite plausibly present in Spoleto, were essentially managed by painters who created frescoes, panels and wooden images, and exerted a strong influence as far as the neighbouring regions of Marche and Abruzzo.
The Madonna and Child, whose colours are still almost completely intact, was originally intended for inside a tabernacle closed with two similarly painted doors which opened, now lost, as still seen in the Madonna and Child of the Diocesan Museum of Foligno (originating from the village of Pale) or the Madonna of Fossa in Abruzzo.
Only the back of the ancient tabernacle still remains and the Madonna sits on a very simple seat with her back resting on it.
Although the work shows the strong influence of Umbrian Romanesque wood sculpture (as represented by the Madonna and Childs of Poggioprimocaso, the Museum of Palazzo Santi in Cascia, and the Civic Art Gallery in Spello) in the rigid frontal positions of the figures and the special use of a white veil with blue decoration held by a crown on the Virgin’s head, at the same time, it shows clear elements of the new Gothic language such as the maternal movement of the hand holding the Son, the kicking of the child’s legs under the light tunic and the sharp angular folds in Mary’s gown which suggest the rounded knee beneath.
This suggests a connection between the work and slightly later sculptures such as the Madonna and Child in the church of St Cecilia in Acquasparta, and the Madonna and Child in a private collection in Florence, and a similarity to the work of the Maestro of Cesi, an artist who well represents the mixture of ancient tradition and Gothic spirit in the pictorial style of Spoleto.

XII/2 Dossale Spiridion Virgin with the Child and Scenes of the Passion of Christ
           unknown Spoletian painter
           tempera on wood panel
           XIV century, first half
           cm 90 x 140
           Rome, Spiridon collection, later Gallotti collection

The altar dossal is made up according to a scheme that was normally used in the Umbrian and Tuscan area: rectangular shape, horizontally developed with central image and six scenes distributed on its sides.
At the beginning of the XX century, the work of art was part of the Spiridon collection, it passed to the Gallotti collection afterwards and it was finally bought by the State in 1988.
It most likely comes from the Norcian area (Garrison).
The unknown author is closely linked with the artists that were active in southern Umbria during the first half of the XIV century and that were part of the “Spoletian school”, in an environment that starting from the “ Master of Le Palazze” and the “Master of Cesi”, the Spoletian Romanic painting tradition meets the new painting from Assisi.
The dossal, far from the Gothic refinements of the Master of Cini Diptych or the Master of the Crucifix of Trevi, is comparable with the reliquaries of Saint Alò with which it shares the solidity of the figures and the expressive portray, yet it is distinguished by the adoption of “una pittura veloce (attitudine forse desunta dalla pratica della pittura murale), di grande semplificazio- ne, ottenuta con marcati segni neri di contor- no, squillanti decorazioni dei tessuti e rustiche espressioni dei volti” (G. Benazzi).

XII/3 Virgin
           unknown Umbrian sculptor
           carved and painted wood
           XIV century, third quarter
           cm 81 x 36
           from the parish of Capodacqua of Foligno (?)

The sculpture, which lacks the left arm and the Baby, lost some time in the past, is characterised by precise bright polychromy and represents an evolution in the expression of the Madonna and Child theme preserved in this room.
 Like the latter, it must have originally been contained in a tabernacle closed with two doors which opened, now lost: only the back of the tabernacle remains.
It is decorated with stencilled geometric patterns and the Madonna’s back rests against it as she sits on a throne embellished with a cushion.
Mary’s head is also covered with a white veil with blue decoration held on her forehead with a crown but the veil shows movement in its fine folds.
In fact, our Madonna represents a by now complete adaptation to the prevailing Gothic language, visible both in the gestures and in the clothing: indeed there is greater expressiveness in the face, and subtle movement in the body that is concentrated especially in the legs and the right hand which seems to want to lay down the red fruit, possibly a pomegranate (an allusion to the fullness of Divine grace and the mystery of death and the resurrection of Christ).
The gown, simple and full with a rounded neck, is held slightly under the breast with a thin belt that creates soft folds; the cloak, heavier, rests on her knees creating large elegant undulations, under the veil, her hair is tied back, maybe in plaits tied on her nape as was the custom for women at the time.
These images were quite common and widely venerated and they fully reflect the enormous cult bestowed on the Madonna in southern Umbria: in fact this area lay on the main pilgrim routes leading to Loreto, in the Marche, had many different specifically dedicated sanctuaries and also had some towns officially dedicated to Mary.
It is not known where the sculpture comes from: one source, which lacks documentary confirmation, says that it was originally situated in the parish of Capodacqua of Foligno, which like the not distant Belfiore, lay on the main route to the Marche.