Jesus meets his Mother

Abstract

The chapel was built between 1661 and 1664, when the fourteen terracotta sculptures by Dionigi Bussola and Giovanni Battista Maestri (il Volpino) were finally installed. The frescoes were completed decades later, 1703 - 1704, by Giovanni Sampietro of Milan. This chapel represents the fourth Station of the Cross, when Jesus meets his mother on the way to his crucifixion. The scene is separated into two groups of figures. Jesus, Mary, and their companions are arranged in the foreground close to the viewer, while the soldiers, executioners, and other prisoners seem to march away in a single file line in the background. Grouping the characters in this way is dramatic and suggests that the sculptures are functioning like actors on a stage-set. The soldiers and thieves help contextualize the moment that is taking place between Jesus and his mother and foreshadow his fate. This arrangement also suggests a pause in the devotional narrative, allowing the pilgrim to focus first on the central group and then on the scene at large. Early-modern handbooks on religious meditations often advised the reader to pause whenever they felt a sweet feeling of devotion. / The Sacro Monte, or Monte Calvario, of Domodossola was founded by two friars from the local Capuchin convent, Gioacchino da Cassano and Andrea da Rho. In 1656, they planted a large cross atop the ruins of the medieval fortress that had previously occupied the site and began building the sanctuary on top of the hill in July of the following year. This was the first Sacro Monte dedicated to the Via Crucis, or the Stations of the Cross. Early construction efforts were led and funded by Giovanni Matteo Capis (1617 - 1681) a wealthy merchant who had previously served as the mayor of Domodossola, the director of its hospital, and a leader in the local inquisition.