The artist Maurizio Meldolesi donates an altarpiece to the Oratory of Sant'Eligio de' Ferrari: "Priceless to see people pray in front of their own work"
The blessing ceremony of the altarpiece depicting the Madonna and Child (known as the Madonna de' Ferrari) which the artist Maurizio Meldolesi donated took place last Saturday at the Oratory of the ancient Roman Church of Sant'Eligio de' Ferrari. to the Confraternity directed by Dr. Giovanni Danna, replacing a nineteenth-century wooden Crucifix which was in danger of detaching from the wall and which in turn replaced an eighteenth-century Madonna and Child. The artist Meldolesi (in the photo) is known for being among the most representative exponents of an artistic practice that knows how to combine figuration with an accentuated realism imbued with emblematic meanings that lead to reflection and meditation; as in the case of this superb Madonna de' Ferrari, in which the influence and quotes from ancient masters such as Michelangelo, Raphael, Caravaggio and others testify to a rare ability to unite past and present by virtue of an authentic passion and love for 'art of all time. We interviewed him at the end of the touching ceremony officiated by Msgr. Sandro Corradini, known to all scholars as the greatest archivist of Caravaggio.
-Do you want to explain to our readers how this donation initiative was born and how much time you spent creating the work?
A: The oratory of the Confraternity of Sant'Eligio dei Ferrari, which flanks the main church, had been deprived for over 30 years of an eighteenth-century painting depicting the Madonna and Child, located elsewhere. A new image was needed, and from a conversation with the managers my willingness to paint a new work arose spontaneously. After the approval of a summary sketch by the clients, within about a month I created the painting, to make the oratory available for the annual feast of Sant'Eligio. I can assure you that a donation of this kind is amply repaid by the emotion found in seeing the faithful pray and get excited in front of my creation.
-Why did you think of creating an altarpiece depicting the Madonna and Child? Is this the first time you have been involved in circumstances like this, i.e. in the creation of religious works for churches or sacred places and what precedents do you have - if any - in this regard?
A: It was necessary to propose a subject that recalled the previous painting, placed above the only altar of the oratory. I have had the privilege of various commissions in sacred places, such as in the Church of Buon Consiglio and in the Marcucci museum in Ascoli Piceno, in the S. Caterina convent in Fabriano, and again in the Coptic Orthodox Center in Cairo and in the Italian Institute of Culture of Cairo and Madrid, but this commission made me understand how important it is to be present in a church in the capital.
-The canvas has undoubted references to ancient art, with rather clear quotes from great artists of the past. Do you want to explain who and why you were inspired in particular?
A: Since painting is a narrative tool, each artist often inserts autobiographical elements and languages learned from their masters. Since it is a sacred place, I chose to recall the dramatic monumentality of Michelangelo's Pietà, softened with a reference to the domestic quiet of Vermeer's Milkmaid. And naturally with the red drape hanging over the figures as if to prelude the drama of the Passion, I tried to draw on the inexhaustible source of Caravaggio's modules.
–To close, I would ask you to briefly illustrate your figure as an artist, your stylistic path, why you started painting, who were your inspirations and what were the stages that led you to figurative art.
A: It all started with a trip to Holland where I had the opportunity to admire the works of Rembrandt and Vermeer. Fascinated by their creative path, I wanted to delve deeper into the inspirations of these masters, going back chronologically to Leonardo. In the meantime I enriched my preparation by attending the Academy of Fine Arts in Macerata and a private Academy in Florence: the choice of figurative language is important for me, but even more so having something interesting to tell. About art online, 5 June 2024
Comitato Direttivo Premio Istituzionale Roma - Picus del Ver Sacrum 2018 - XXXIV Edizione, Rome, 30 May 2019
In the curriculum vitae of Maurizio Meldolesi the arrival at art, albeit late, was a real fascination that
captured him as love at first sight in direct contact with the works of the great seventeenth-century Italian and Dutch masters, from Caravaggio in Vermeer. For more than ten years, driven by a
visceral passion, through in-depth studies of the methods and techniques of traditional painting, he has penetrated the secrets of the ancient manner that has made current in his production, from
time to time more and more linked to felt and declined motifs according to the urgencies of the present. His is a research addressed to the past but that speaks of the present, updating its
message so that contemporaneity, also through art and aesthetic practice, can trace noble points of reference, dictated by the regulative idea of beauty understood as fullness of meaning. With
this motivation, for having reunited the past with the present, tradition with innovation, aesthetics with ethics in his artistic practice, we give Maurizio Meldolesi the Marchigiano Prize of the
Year. Cronache Maceratesi, 31 May 2019
Padre Armando Pierucci, convento S.Caterina di Fabriano, for the inauguration and benediction of the "San Francesco", 10 February 2019
Maurizio Meldolesi is a young painter trained in the study of the great Masters of the Renaissance and the Baroque. Putting a realistic drawing at the center, Meldolesi enriches the work of art with references and allusions that force reflection. His Saint Francis is in ecstasy, raised by a cloud. And he is also suffering from the surprise and pain caused by the stigmata, which have already injured his hands. At the same time the painter evokes some episodes of the saint's life. The building, in this case the Palazzo Comunale di Fabriano, recalls that splendid and large palace, adorned with weapons of war, which was shown from above, while a voice asked who was better to serve, the Master or the servant. Even the little devils, barely visible in the darkness, remember when the blessed Francis saw exultant demons above the city and ordered his companion to expel them. "That, obeying, he cried; the demons fled and peace was made ". Beyond these suggestions, the fact remains that we are dealing with a suffering Francis. More than resting on the ground, he is suspended over a cloud, while pain gradually imprints his stigmata. However, it is a pain that comes from a dove, a white symbol of peace; it hurts, yes, but together it completes to paint a halo of holiness around the head of the sick Saint. L'azione, 21 february 2019
Paolo Sabbatini, Director of the Italian Cultural Institute in Cairo and Cultural Counselor of the Embassy of Italy, for the solo exhibition "Sacred portraits", 8 February – 5 May 2016
The painting of the young Maurizio Meldolesi is particularly appreciated for having achieved, in relatively early, a style immediately recognizable, consisting mainly in the ability to give life to the classical tune compositions with a marked taste for synthesis and for the harmonious balance between the parties, with figures marked by an incisive outline and transparencies and color illuminations refined, as well as the effective physical and psychological identification. The figures are placed within landscaped backdrops ample breathing space and the atmosphere clear and bright, immediately recognizable as the sweet Marche valleys, so celebrated by Raphael onwards. Coptic Orthodox Cultural Center, Cairo, Egypt
Resto del Carlino - July 21, 2014 - Past and modernity in the works of Meldolesi.
It was inaugurated in Monte San Martino the exhibition "Past Perfect" by Maurizio Meldolesi, edited by Eleonora Sarti. It will remain open until 20 September and is made up of thirty works that reinterpret techniques, styles and iconography of the past in the contemporary. The exhibition is part of the logic of the air museum, then the exhibition space expands to the whole village, the Art Gallery at the Church of Grace. The work of Meldolesi were already exhibited in galleries in Brussels, Hong Kong, Rome and in some Italian Cultural Institutes abroad. In his oil paintings echo the themes of Caravaggio, Michelangelo, Raphael and the atmosphere of the Flemish painters, the inspiration behind the interest of Meldolesi painting techniques. The inauguration on Sunday was greeted by a large crowd, made up of Italians but also foreigners, with a strong British participation. (Civic Art Museum, Monte San Martino)
Elizabeth Lau for the group exhibition presentation "Stillness", State Of The Arts Gallery, Hong Kong - june 25 / July 31, 2012
The dark and empty background of Maurizio Meldolesi’s work mirrors the undisturbed intrinsic essence of the subject without time frame or locational boundary. (Exhibition)
Stefania Severi for "Planet Paper in the third mllennium" exhibition catalog, National Museum of Popular Arts and Traditions – November 10 / December 21, 2011
Maurizio Meldolesi, proposing his "Vergine Annunciata", an oil on paper with "chewed paper" frame, emphasizes the extremely flexible use of paper that becomes ground for oil panting and wood-like material for the frame. It's also a tribute to tradition in the revival of classical iconography and decorative elements.
Peter Dedroog for the personal exhibition “Contrasti”, WOW Art Gallery, Brussels – August 27 / September 11, 2011
His work is remarkable for its contrasts. "Chiaroscuro", color and the use of forgotten techniques give a Pytagorean-math flavor to his work. However, his classical work has an higher ambition than the mere imagination of "reality". It is not simply the manifestation of a technique, but the expression of his reflections through brushstrokes of color. (Exhibition)
Silvia Bartolini for “InOPERA – Sulle orme di Padre Matteo Ricci” exhibition catalog, Museum of Palazzo Buonaccorsi, Macerata – July 22 / October 24, 2010
Actually as self-taught painter, Maurizio Meldolesi became an artist for passion, beginning a research on traditional art based on the different values of an image. He actually takes a way in which the focurs in the experimentation on expressivity of color combination (the oil painting is his main technique) and drawing centrality (realistic style), from the reflection on the great age of Dutch painting of the seventeenth century (through which he approached painting) and in particular on the character of Caravaggio. This meditation, in the painting "Auditio", with clear and bright tones characterized by the combination of primary colors, leads to appreciable contrasts in light and shadow. In this painting, the light creates the effect of plastic volumes in which the figures, in the manner of ancient portraits, detach themselves from the dark background, that - contrary to what happens in the latest portraits of Meldolesi - takes the denotation of a starry sky that alludes to the cosmic space. (Museo di Palazzo Buonaccorsi)
Silvia Carminati for the personal exhibition “Out of the shadows”, Palazzetto delle esposizioni (Rinascita), Ascoli Piceno – October 24 / November 6, 2009
He is a tireless experimenter and he is searching and challenging his limits in drawing and painting techniques. He was fascinated by a journey in Holland and seventeenth century Dutch artists inspired him. The most important one is Rembrandt, whom he admires the ability to create a scenery, a story and a particular atmosphere. Indeed in his early works, Meldolesi focuses on the scenery, the background of the subject, then he decides to leave this point of view when Caravaggio becomes his main model, whom the principle to be close to reality becomes his own principle. After that, the background and not the scenery is the most important part of the painting, the dark background, the darkness, from where the picture with strong contrast between light and dark emerge with no time, place or age. The protrait is the focus of the artist: every subject is real, it is a person known by the painter and he tries to capture sensibility, every wrinkle, expression and feeling as an explorer and a kind psychologist. It is very difficult for Meldolesi to separate himself from his canvases, as a father with his children, because of the passion he put in the study of every detail. He is able to be so close to reality, so you can see every brush stroke and every different shape of color in his paintings. In particular, you can sense every emotion in the story told by the faces and you can see different expressions simply watching closely or from afar.
