Temptation of Saint Francis

Abstract

There is a considerable amount of debate about which artists contributed to this chapel and when they completed their work. According to the records of a pastoral visit of 1661, the chapel and its decorations were finished by the time of the bishop's arrival. This date precludes the involvement of Dionigi Bussola (1615 - 1687), to whom the sculptures are traditionally attributed. These figures seem more stiffly posed, and the scene is less crowded than is typical of Bussola's mature style, which can be best observed at Orta in Chapels Sixteen, Seventeen, and Twenty. Marina dell'Omo has suggested Antonio Pino da Bellagio (dates unknown) as a possible alternative to Bussola and dates the group to c. 1654. Similar confusion persists regarding the frescoes. A note in a late-seventeenth century manuscript attributes the painted decorations in this chapel to Panfilo Nuvolone (c. 1578/81 - 1651), whereas modern scholars assert that frescoes were signed and dated by his sons Carlo Francesco (c. 1608 - 1661) and Giuseppe Nuvolone (1619 - 1703) in 1654, three years after their father's death. The scene shows Saint Francis' response to carnal temptations, which are also depicted on the walls above the sculptures: he removed his clothes and threw himself into the thorns of a rosebush. His pious actions caused the demons tormenting him to flee, the rosebush to bloom out of season, and a host of angels to appear and lead him to worship at the nearby Altar of the Porzinuncola. The demons are shown with dark skin and, in some cases, caricatured and stereotypical ethnic features, a racist convention used to indicate their sinful nature, whereas the angels all have light skin and idealized features. The two demons without clothes have bird-like talons instead of feet and sagging breasts. Francis is also surrounded by a number of fruit trees and animals that emphasize the tempting nature of this scene: the fruit trees, for example, recall Adam and Eve's temptation in the Garden of Eden. The animals here are a mix of clean and unclean animals. Rock badgers and hares are described by the Torah as unclean and therefore unfit for consumption by God's people, whereas deer and goats are clean (Leviticus 11:4 - 6 and Deuteronomy 14:6 - 7). This may have been meant to remind the viewer of the importance of making careful choices and following God's law to the letter. The lion on the left-hand side of the scene, next to the demons, seems to reference 1 Peter 5: 8 - 9, which warns: "Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is going through the same kind of sufferings." The entire chapel illustrates this concept and presents Saint Francis as an example for contemporary Christians to follow. / Orta is the second oldest Sacro Monte. Construction began on the chapels there in 1591, just over a hundred years after the first Sacro Monte site was established at nearby Varallo. A community of Capuchin friars lived on the mountain, oversaw construction, and guided visitors on their pilgrimages once the chapels were finished. One of the brothers, Cleto da Castelletto Ticino (1556 - 1619) designed a series of thirty-six mysteries for the site, although only twenty chapels were ever completed. Before joining the Capuchin Order, Cleto had trained as an architect and engineer. After construction began at Orta, he also worked alongside Pellegrino Tibaldi (1527 - 1596), one of Carlo Borromeo's favorite architects. Amico Canobio (1532 - 1592), a Benedictine Abbot and Commissioner of the secular lands within the diocese of Novara, oversaw Cleto's work and was the first major patron of the chapels at Orta. Carlo Bascapè (1550 - 1615) took charge of directing the progress at Orta as soon he was named Bishop of Novara in 1593, the year after Canobio's death.