Scipione Pulzone

SCIPIONE PULZONE, Il Gaetano (Gaeta, 1544 - Rome, 1598).
"Dolorosa".
Oil on canvas.
Measurements: 114 x 94 cm; 140 x 120 x 7 cm (frame).

This Dolorosa accompanied by St. John the Evangelist, by Scipione Pulzone, is a masterpiece of devotional painting, an outstanding example of the devotional painting of the Counter-Reformation. Through a sober composition, a masterful use of light and a deep emotional and symbolic content, the artist succeeds in creating an image of immense spiritual power. It is not just a representation of a biblical event, but a visual meditation on pain, faith and sacrifice, designed to move and inspire the viewer to pious contemplation, perfectly fulfilling the artistic and religious ideals of his time.

The composition is intimate and concentrated, eliminating any narrative distraction to focus all attention on the emotion of the characters. The figures, depicted half-length, emerge from a dark, neutral background, a feature Pulzone employs to intensify the spiritual connection with the viewer.

The Madonna Dolorosa is of an idealized, classical beauty, bathed in a soft light that delicately models her features. Her gaze is low and melancholy, an expression of restrained sadness, dignified and profound. There are no exaggerated tears or uncontrolled gestures; his pain is internalized, inviting pious meditation. His hands, elegantly intertwined, are a focus of attention that reinforces his attitude of resignation and prayer.

The expression of anguish of St. John the Evangelist, located to the right of the Virgin, is more explicit. His brow is furrowed and his mouth half-open, looking upward as if in silent lament or supplication. She holds a white cloth, probably to wipe away tears, a gesture that underscores the humanity of her suffering. His presence serves as a counterpoint to Mary's sorrowful serenity.

A powerful light source, coming from the left, selectively illuminates the most significant parts of the scene: faces and hands, red tunic and ochre veil, as well as the Instruments of the Passion, in the foreground. Indeed, in the lower right corner, on a stone block or altar, are the Instruments of the Passion: the crown of thorns and the three nails. On the stone block, one can read an inscription in Latin, which the Catholic liturgy applies to the Sorrowful Virgin.

Scipione Pulzone was one of the most important painters in Rome at the end of the 16th century, at the height of the Counter-Reformation. His precise and defined drawing is heir to the tradition of Raphael. This is revealed in an extremely polished and enameled pictorial surface finish, where the brushstroke is almost invisible. This gives the figures a sculptural and timeless quality. Also noteworthy is the meticulous attention to detail, visible in the texture of the fabrics, the softness of the skin and the hardness of the thorns.

Sicipione Pulzone began his artistic training as a pupil of Jacopino del Conte, although he soon preferred to take personalities such as Girolamo Muziano or Siciolante as references for his art. His taste for descriptive effects led him to study Flemish and Venetian models, from which he extracted a rich palette of colors. However, it was in Raphael where he found his greatest influence reflected in the use of defined contours and schematic clarity. His art recalls above all the earliest Raphael, the one that refers us to the style of a Perugino or a Domenico Ghirlandaio. That is why his art is largely revisionist, since his sources are not to be found in his immediate predecessors, but in the great masters of the late Quattrocento. In 1584 Pulzone traveled to Naples and Florence. In the latter city he came into contact with local artists of a similar sensibility to his own. Pulzone is the archetype of counter-mannerist art. He was primarily a portrait painter and his works submissively followed the dictates of the Roman Church: he tried to transmit simple emotions, within the reach of the simplest of spectators, with a didactic intention and sometimes, with an almost artisanal air, which prioritizes art as a vehicle to transmit an idea, in this case of a religious type, rather than seeking beauty, the artist's showcasing or the assumption of artistic challenges.