First Oritorio
This was the
first oritorio we saw, directly behind the large cathedral in my previous
post. Altho in the past, they would have
small ceremonies and services in this oritorio,
I believe today it is mainly used as a sort of museum to the fabulous
plaster carvings inside.
Looks Like Marble
The first thing
that struck me was how much this carved plaster looked like marble. The artist who did this work, Giacomo
Serpotta, also did the work on the second oritorio we would see. I think it’s amazing – keep in mind,
everything you see is the carved plaster!
Ceiling Art
Here’s a better
look at the ceiling of the first room of this oritorio – I was truly amazed by
the intricacy of his work!
Elaborate Plaster
Sculpture
The second room
of this oritorio was absolutely incredible.
The paintings (not done by Serpotta) in the room portrayed each of the
mysteries of the rosary. For those of
you who are not Catholic, when one says the rosary, the prayers are sort of
divided into sections, each portraying part of the life of Christ, and these
sections are called a mystery. There are
the sorrowful mysteries, the joyful mysteries, the luminous mysteries, and the
glorious mysteries. In this oritorio,
each of the mysteries was represented by a set of paintings, surrounded by the
wonderful plaster sculpture of Serpotta.
In addition, each of the statues in between the paintings represents one
of the virtues of the Catholic religion.
There are many virtues, and I won’t bore you with listing them all here!
Fortitude with
Lizard
Here is one of
the virtue statues. This virtue is
fortitude. The reason I’m showing this
virtue is the little lizard on the pillar next to her. Serpotta’s signature was either a lizard or a
snake, incorporated somewhere into his art.
In this oritorio, he chose to include a lizard.
Lines Forms and
Shapes
In the upper
portion of the front of this room within the oritorio, I noticed this window,
surrounded by more of the plaster carvings.
I really was taken by all the different design lines included in this
image, and had to include it just for fun!
Enjoy!
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