Foggia. Another jewel of Apulian art returns to the enjoyment of the community. This is the large canvas that adorns the Church of Jesus and Mary, in the Convent of the Friars Minor in Foggia, the work of the painter Benedetto Brunetti, who created it in 1674.
The work, which was returned to its original beauty after precious and long work carried out by the restorer Leonardo Maddalena, was delivered with a ceremony which took place this morning, in the presence of civil and religious authorities.
Also speaking on the occasion were the President Vito Primiceri and the General Director, Mauro Buscicchio, of the “Banca Popolare Pugliese – Giorgio Primiceri” Foundation.” which fully financed the restoration of the oil on canvas painting which depicts the Madonna and Saint Anna holding the little Jesus with his arms outstretched towards the two female figures. They are surrounded by S. Giuseppe and S. Giacomo against a background of classical architecture and a landscape with trees which refer, according to art scholars, to sixteenth-century painting, corrected by influences of Neapolitan painting with baroque tendencies of the period in which the large canvas was painted by the artist already present, with his works, in the Daunian capital.
This is a devotional event that is particularly awaited by the Foggia community, which has always been linked to the Church of the Convent of the Friars Minor and the Banca Popolare Pugliese Foundation has adhered with conviction to the request to finance the restoration of the canvas put forward by Father Roberto Nesta, Guardian and Parish Priest. of the Church of Jesus and Mary, and by prof. Saverio Russo, President of the Regional Delegation of the FAI of Puglia, who continues, with his associates, in his meritorious work of valorisation and conservation of the artistic heritage of our region.
“This is an event we didn’t want to miss – underlined Vito Primiceri, President of the “Banca Popolare Pugliese – Giorgio Primiceri” Foundation – We know how much the restored canvas is part of the popular devotion of Foggia, as well as being a painting of great artistic value . Our intervention is part of the commitment made with the communities of the territories in which we operate, to preserve the most culturally relevant expressions linked to the traditions and history of these lands”.
The ceremony of presentation of the restored canvas to the Foggia community took place in the Convent of the Friars Minor at 12, with the participation of the mayor of Foggia, Maria Aida Episcopo, of civil and religious authorities, and of the community of the Minor Friars, together with the faithful of Foggia, who had long been awaiting the return of the “Holy Family” restored in one of the places of most important cult in the city.
“The restoration of this large canvas testifies to the closeness of our credit institution to the Foggia community – underlined the General Director of the Banca Popolare Pugliese, Mauro Buscicchio – and continues in the fruitful dialogue that our Bank has established with those who care about the recovery of the highest expressions of the art of Puglia as testimony to the history of a region which continues, precisely through the signs of its artistic history, to be a cultural and tourist reference point for Southern Italy”.
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