Sebastiano Luciani, meglio conosciuto come Sebastiano del Piombo (Venezia, 1485 – Roma, 21 giugno 1547), si forma prima con Giovanni Bellini e poi con Giorgione. Arrivato a Roma nel 1511, la sua opera risente dell’influenza di Michelangelo Buonarroti, e si pone come alternativa al Raffaello. La sua fama è attestata dai numerosi incarichi ricevuti che lo portano non solo a Roma, ma anche in altre città come appunto Viterbo.
Tra le opere principali: la Salomè con la testa del Battista (Londra, National Gallery), il ritratto di donna (National Gallery of Art, Kress), il ritratto del cardinale Ferry Carondolet (Madrid, collezione Thyssen), ritratto del cardinale Bandinello Sauli (Washington, National Gallery), ritratto del Cardinale Reginald Pole (San Pietroburgo, Museo dell’Ermitage), la Morte di Adone ( Uffizi, Firenze), Resurrezione di Lazzaro (London, National Gallery), Pietà di Úbeda (Madrid, Museo del Prado).
Nel 1531, di nuovo a Roma, ottiene la carica di piombatore apostolico che gli fa acquistare l’epiteto di “del Piombo”.
Collocata originariamente nella Chiesa di Santa Maria del Paradiso di Viterbo su commissione di Giovanni Botonti, chierico di camera di papa Clemente VII. Ritenuta per tanto tempo copia di bottega, oggi è considerata una delle sue più alte realizzazioni.
Rispetto all’opera realizzata dall’autore per la cappella Borgherini in San Pietro, qui Sebastiano attua una drastica riduzione del numero delle figure sulla scena, che diventano solo tre. Il Cristo è posto al centro, come nella iconografia usuale. L’oscurità che caratterizza il fondo mette in risalto la solitudine della figura del Cristo, distrutto dalla sofferenza.
Realizzata in collaborazione con Michelangelo e destinata alla cappella Botonti della Chiesa di San Francesco alla Rocca, la Pietà è considerato il grande capolavoro di Sebastiano del piombo. A partire dal Vasari, a lungo l’opera è stata attribuita a Michelangelo (per via degli schizzi presenti sul retro della pala), riferendo a Sebastiano la sola esecuzione pittorica e il paesaggio in notturna. Ipotesi oggi sempre meno accreditata. Per l’epoca, l’opera segna dal punto di vista iconografico un significativo cambiamento rispetto alle immagini della tradizione sul tema Pietà: la Vergine non tiene in braccio e, soprattutto, non guarda il figlio che è deposto sul sudario. Le figure del Cristo e della Madonna, poste al centro del dipinto, sono avvolte dalle tenebre in un paesaggio campestre, tra impianti termali e caseggiati rustici. Secondo alcuni studi il luogo è riconducibile all’attuale area termale di Viterbo, lo stesso in cui Dante Alighieri ambienta l’Inferno. Sullo sfondo si intravedono delle mura civiche e un abitato, sovrastate da un cielo notturno e tempestoso ed una luna piena.
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