The day a major work of art was ruined by bombs
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| Mantegna's Stories of St James was one of the works destroyed |
It was
one of the worst losses suffered by Italy’s cultural heritage during World War
II as Mantegna’s frescoes were considered a major work of art.
Mantegna,
who was born in Isola di Cartura near Vicenza in 1431, was commissioned to
paint a cycle of frescoes in the Ovetari Chapel, one of the side chapels,
depicting scenes from the lives of Saint James and Saint Christopher. The
commission marked the beginning of his artistic career when he started work at
the age of 17 in 1448. He was in his mid 20s by the time he had finished the
cycle in 1457.
Tragically,
the German invading army had established their headquarters in Padua next to
the Church of the Eremitani, which was why the chapel and the wonderful
frescoes were so badly damaged.
They were
reduced to more than 88,000 separate pieces and were found mixed in with plaster
and bricks on the ground.
A
detailed photographic survey of the work had been made previously and it was
therefore possible later to reconstruct the artist’s work and recompose part of
the cycle depicting the Martyrdom of Saint James. Other frescoes by Mantegna
had been removed before the war to protect them from damp and they have also
now been reinstated.
In other
chapels, 14th century frescoes by Guarentio and Giusto de’ Menabuoi
miraculously survived.
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| The Church of the Eremitani found itself next door to a German army headquarters |
The
church was built for Augustinian friars between 1260 and 1276 and dedicated to
the Saints Philip and James.
The
friars remained in the church and adjoining monastery until 1806 when Padua was
under Napoleonic rule and the order was suppressed. The church was reopened for
services in 1808 and became a parish church in 1817.
The
church has a single nave with plain walls decorated with ochre and red bricks
and has a vaulted wooden ceiling. It houses the ornate tombs of two lords of
Padua, Jacopo II da Carrara and Ubertino da Carrara, designed by Andriolo de
Santi.
The 15th
century side portal is also known as the Door of the Months because of the four
panels by the sculptor Nicolo Baroncelli depicting allegories of the months.
The Musei
Civici agli Eremitani (Civic Museum) of Padua is now housed in the former
Augustinian monastery to the left of the church.
(Picture credit: Church of the Eremitani by Didier Descouens via Wikimedia Commons)
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