Fra Girolamo Savonarola

Abstract

This small stucco relief depicts Girolamo Savonarola, the fiery Dominican preacher who was so persuasive that he gained control not only of the monastery of San Marco but also of the government of Venice, and held great bonfires of the vanities, burning books, make-up, wigs, jewelry, art, and other objects deemed sinful. Savonarola was condemned as a heretic and burned at the stake in 1498. Even though it could be dangerous to do so, many continued to follow Savonarola after his death, praying to him for help and collecting his /relics/ and images of him. Eccelesiastical authorities repeatedly condemn this cult throughout the sixteenth century, noting that people pray to Savonarola in the privacy of their homes, and friars do so in their cells. Illicit manuscripts circulated detailing the posthumous miracles of Savonarola -- how people who prayed to him, holding a relic or an image of him, were instantly cured. This relief, which must have been made after Savonarola's death (as is made clear by the inscription) is small enough to be held in the hand during prayer and easily hidden (8.7 cm in diameter). The maple wood box was made later, probably in the eighteenth or nineteenth century, but the work may well have originally been kept secret in such a covered box. The composition repeats exactly the slightly larger bronze medal of Savonarola (in the Bargello), also likely made soon after the preacher's death, and so this relief was likely made from a mold made from a cast from the medal. (Such an object would necessarily be smaller than the bronze, as the stucco shrinks slightly when drying.) The modelling is very precise, though, and so the sculptor likely carved the hardened stucco to refine the details, before the same artist or another one added the richly naturalistic paint, which makes the dead seem to live again. Given the circumstances, it is no surprise that the object is not signed, and there are no documents about its authorship. Scholars have speculated that it (and the medal from which it was cast) were made by members of the Della Robbia family, who were loyal followers of Savonarola both during his life and afterwards. Andrea della Robbia risked everything by signing a petition in support of Savonarola after he had already been arrested, and his sons Marco and Francesco della Robbia both became observant Dominican friars at San Marco. The Latin inscription reads: Venie(n)t ad te q(ui) detrahebant tibi et adorabu(n)t vestigia pedum tuor(um) (They will come to you, those who had put you down, and adore your footprints). This object is currently displayed in Savonarola's monastery, which has been made into the Museo di San Marco, in one of the friar's rooms, along with other relics.