Appeal for Daniele da Volterra in Siena, petitioners: 'we continue dialogue with the Uffizi, we care about the territory'

There are new twists in the story of the d’Elci paintings by Daniele da Volterra (Daniele Ricciarelli; Volterra, 1509 - Rome, 1566), namely theElijah in the Desert and the Madonna and Child, St. John and St. Barbara once belonging to the collections of the Pannocchieschi d’Elci counts in Siena, which the Uffizi Galleries purchased between 2017 and 2019 and which a group of intellectuals would like to return to the city of the Palio: an appeal had been launched in December (which has since reached fifty subscriptions) asking the Florentine museum to rethink the destination of the two works, involving in the decision-making process the Pinacoteca Nazionale di Siena, designated as a possible new “home” for the Volterra artist’s paintings. “The two masterpieces by Daniele da Volterra,” the petitioners wrote, “had been kept for two centuries in the Pannocchieschi d’Elci palace, overlooking Siena’s Piazza del Campo, with a family related to that of the artist. Their presence in Siena documents one of the highest episodes of the city’s historical collecting and testifies to the development of the local school, since Daniele da Volterra was trained in the Siena area.”

The Uffizi’s response had come at the beginning of 2020: director Eike Schmidt had ruled out the possibility of a transfer in any capacity to the Sienese museum (Schmidt had stated that there were unspecified regulatory obstacles, but he had also opened to dialogue with Siena by stating that the Uffizi was willing to lend the two paintings for a possible temporary exhibition). The mayor of Siena, Luigi De Mossi, had moreover thanked Schmidt for retaining in the public heritage two works that otherwise “would have been known and enjoyed only by private parties.”

A few weeks later come the comments of the appeal’s signatories, who, in the first instance, provide the reasons for their request: “first,” they explain, "the importance of the Daniele da Volterra in the context of early 16th-century Sienese painting. The Pinacoteca Civica in Volterra contains a fresco by the painter that seems to have come out of the brush of Sodom. Ricciarelli’s relations with Baldassarre Peruzzi, to whom the latter was traditionally attributed the fresco with The Tiburtine Sibyl Preannounces to Augustus the Birth of Jesus, in the Sienese church of Fontegiusta, are well known, until Fiorella Sricchia Santoro’s brilliant recognition of Daniele’s autography (1987). The two d’Elci paintings, on the other hand, show interest in Domenico Beccafumi. The Elijah looks like a character from the cartoons for the floor of the Siena cathedral dressed in bright colors, while the Madonna is led through the expanded forms connoted by draperies with the very long folds of Domenico’s late maturity, elements that mix with Michelangelo’s painting style during the Farnese pontificate. In short, Ricciarelli, whatever one may say, is the painter who better than any other combines the style of the three recognized masters of the early 16th century in Siena with the ’terrible’ painting of Buonarroti. In this sense, it is a real lacuna that the painter is not represented in Siena’s Pinacoteca Nazionale, the museum that better than any other represents the development of the local school and also the city’s highest collecting. The two paintings, in fact, had long been kept by a noble family rooted since the modern age in Siena, in one of the city’s most prestigious palaces."

The signatories then specify the nature of their group: “the appeal was not made by an actual ’committee,’ but by people who simply shared its strong reasons. What is more unique than rare in Italy, scholars of different disciplines from various parts of Italy, from Trieste to Ragusa, and with multiple orientations, have expressed their consensus on the push of a ’political’ vision and feeling in the most authentic, etymological sense of caring for the ’polis,’ the city and its cultural heritage.” The majority of the signatories are not Sienese; in fact, the detail of one situation, that of the Daniele da Volterra, recalls a larger problem. The point, they explain in their note, is precisely the relationship between the work of art and the territory: “the appeal addressed primarily to the Uffizi, whose director Eike Schmidt with his initiative has meritoriously ensured the enrichment of the national heritage,opens questions that concern not only Siena, but ”the very criterion of purchases by Italian state museums. The great museums, supported also by generous private funders, must increase and solicit knowledge of the heritage and historical memories of a wider local context, becoming the driving force behind a broad and widespread recognition of the artistic heritage that qualifies Italy as a ’diffuse museum’.“ The petitioners support ”therefore the idea that centralizations should be carried out, when necessary, without causing the impoverishment of the historical-cultural testimonies of local contexts. Such deprivation fosters the estrangement of citizens from their history, with a ’cultural disorientation’ that could further accentuate the lethal disregard for our heritage and sense of the common good. For which we would instead like to see the commitment of all people ignited, region by region, city by city, country by country. The ’return’ of the two works of Daniele da Volterra, in the forms to be identified, can precisely represent a stimulus for the inhabitants in order to have a greater and better awareness of the reality in which they live."

Again, the petitioners explain that their requests are not moved by simple parochialism, which would lead to “frankly senseless” closures, but by the desire to “develop openings and relations between institutions and between territories.” Hence, the intention to continue dialogue with the Uffizi. The summit between the Municipality of Siena and the Florentine gallery, the intellectuals point out, was constructive and “gave birth to the forecast of important initiatives,” but for the two paintings by Daniele da Volterra, the arrival in Siena is expected only in 2023. Therefore, the petitioners conclude, “since Minister Franceschini has declared that he wants to develop a cultural policy that has at heart the care of the various territories, also by confirming in them their masterpieces, it is hoped that the two paintings by Daniele da Volterra will return to Siena, in the most appropriate legal form that the parties will be able to agree. Such a decision would be desirable for a city like Siena, among other things already uneasy about its prestigious cultural institutions being diminished by state measures; but also as an important signal addressed to the broader national context about the intentions mentioned above.”

Pictured are the “d’Elci paintings.” Left: Daniele da Volterra, Elijah in the Desert (c. 1543; oil on canvas, 81 x 115 cm; Private collection). Photo: Andrea Lensini, Siena. Right: Daniele da Volterra, Madonna and Child, St. John and St. Barbara (c. 1548; oil on panel, 131.6 x 100 cm)

Appeal for Daniele da Volterra in Siena, petitioners: 'we continue dialogue with the Uffizi, we care about the territory'

Warning: the translation into English of the original Italian article was created using automatic tools. We undertake to review all articles, but we do not guarantee the total absence of inaccuracies in the translation due to the program. You can find the original by clicking on the ITA button. If you find any mistake,please contact us.