Longari Arte Milano, a historic gallery active since the 1950s, recently moved its headquarters to Palazzo Cicogna in Corso Monforte 23, close to the Duomo. The Italian primitive sculpture is the artistic branch that has always characterized the activity of the gallery: an interest in illuminated fragments and works of art between the 13th and 16th centuries complemented the offer over the years. The gallery has taken part in the most important national exhibitions, among which the Florence International Biennial Antiques Fair, and recently committed itself internationally. The latest participation in Tefaf Maastricht was an opportunity to broaden the gaze to art and collecting beyond the Italian borders. In addition to participating in various cultural exhibitions in Italy and abroad, by lending artworks, Longari arte Milano has also collaborated with important museums and institutions. In the 1970s, in fact, the Vatican acquired wooden sculptures and they can still be admired today in various locations of the Holy See. More recent sales were made to the Getty Museum in Los Angeles, the National Gallery of Art in Washington and the Pinacoteca di Brera in Milan. Among the exhibitions curated by Longari arte Milano, the wooden sculptures at the Pirelli Centre in the 1970s stand out. Located in Via Bigli, the exhibition From the Bible by Corradino to Jacopo della Quercia. Italian sculptures and miniatures from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance in the mid-90s are worth mentioning, and finally A crucifix from the 13th century in Lucca. Around the rediscovery of a medieval wooden masterpiece exhibited over a long time at the Diocesan Museum of Milan in 2010; extensive critical catalogues accompanied all exhibitions.
The miraculous properties attributed to this image, it is certainly due to its special role as a reliquary statue. The back of the work is indeed equipped with a small quadrangular opening located in the centre, between the lappets of the bishop’s mitre, which hang down his back. This is a typical repository, designed to conserve holy fragments of the Saint depicted. This type of anthropomorphic ritual icon began to spread in the 9th and 10th centuries around the historic regions of Auvergne and Limousin, and to the south in the neighbouring districts of Lozère and Aveyron, giving rise to a longstanding tradition that became a specific characteristic of the artistic output of areas on the Massif Central, albeit not exclusively.
Inscribed on the body: "BELLA" "CATARINA". Provenance: Molinier collection; Alexandre Imbert collection before 1938.
CATALOGHI E SCHEDE