Alessandro Berri

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Alessandro Berri - Ultima Cena (Last Supper), 1540, Castelnuovo Scrivia, Alessandria, Italy

Alessandro Berri (Castelnuovo Scrivia, end XV century - Castelnuovo Scrivia, 2nd half XVI century) was an Italian painter who lived in Piedmont around the 1500s.

Life

There is no clear information about his dates of birth and death, because most of sources about him are dating back to the 1800s.[1][2]

However, these sources tell that his place of birth was Castelnuovo Scrivia (a town in the province of Alessandria) and that he was the nephew of Vincenzo Bandello (uncle of the novelist Matteo Bandello) the prior of the church of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan during the period when Leonardo painted "The Last Supper".

According to the 19-century historian Goffredo Casalis, thanks to the intercession of Vincenzo Bandello, Leonardo became the tutor of Alessandro Berri: "..(Leonardo)…spent quite a long time in Castelnuovo, where [Alessandro Berri] was introduced [to Leonardo] through Matteo Bandello and his uncle Vincenzo… (Leonardo) on his hosts request accepted to train Alessandro Berri in the art of painting…".[3]

These sources also tell that Alessandro Berri became a "distinguished pupil"[4] of his great Maestro.

There are no further sources of information that may give exact data about the artistic and painterly development of Alessandro Berri.

From research conducted recently,[5] Alessandro Berri was married to Gabriella Signorio, lived in Castelnuovo Scrivia in the district of "de Molinis" and certainly had 6 children even if it is not to be excluded that he had others.

Works

His most known work of art is a copy of the "Ultima Cena - Last Supper" which can be admired above the altar of the Corpus Domini Chapel of Saints Peter and Paul church in Castelnuovo Scrivia.

The artwork (260x265cm) is painted on a table made of five pieces of poplar wood commissioned by the "Company of the Holy Sacrament" of Castelnuovo Scrivia, of which Alessandro Berri was a member brother.

He considerably lowered its cost both for the love for his Company and "for the good feeling he had to leave this important memory of his virtue to his Country in such an important place…".[6]

The paint itself can be seen as a copy of "The Last Supper" of Leonardo, but with the characters placed in a specular manner in spite of the original.

Alessandro Berri - "Madonna in trono con bambino", 1569, Castelnuovo Scrivia, Alessandria, Italy

Other known works are:

Credited to Alessandro Berri is also the altar-step of "The Last Supper" where are illustrated some Stories of the Passion. This artwork, sawed in the centre to insert a tabernacle, was re-discovered during the 1986 restoration works of "The Last Supper" hidden by the lower wooden frame of the altar.

Bibliography

See also

Footnotes
  1. Casalis, Goffredo (1837). "Dizionario geografico, storico, statistico, commerciale degli stati di S.M. il re di Sardegna". Google Books. p. 209.
  2. Sangiuliani, Cavagna (1870). Studi storici. p. 168 – via Internet Archive. alessandro berri.
  3. Casalis, Goffredo (1837). "Dizionario geografico, storico, statistico, commerciale degli stati di S.M. il re di Sardegna". Google Books. p. 209.
  4. Casalis, Goffredo (1837). "Dizionario geografico, storico, statistico, commerciale degli stati di S.M. il re di Sardegna". Google Books. p. 213.
  5. Brunetti, Antonello (2005). La parrocchiale Santi Pietro e Paolo di Castelnuovo Scrivia. pp. 163–182.
  6. Costa, Giulio Antonio (1680). Preggi & Obblighi della Venerabilissima Compagnia del SS. Sacramento.
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