Centrego altar
Centrego altar
Centrego altar
Audio transcription
Under the mullioned window of the right transept you can admire the Centrègo altar, pearl of the Renaissance, dedicated to St. Thomas Aquinas. In the centre of an interesting architectural context there is the beautiful altarpiece by Girolamo dai Libri, dated to between 1502 and 1505.
The work is rich in references to Mantegna’s lesson on the Triptych of San Zeno, such as the position of the Virgin holding the Child with the palm of her left hand under his foot, and the garland of fruit on the throne, as well as the attempt to link the painted area where the Holy Conversation takes place with the beautiful frame outside. The altarpiece depicting the Madonna on a throne, with St. Augustine, St. Thomas Aquinas, who holds in her hand a model of a church very similar to Sant’Anastasia and, in the foreground from behind, the busts of the donors: Orsolina Cipolla and Cosimo Centrègo. The preciousness of the work is amplified in artificial marble mirrors on the sides, whilst on the upper side; the painted vegetation is reminiscent of the carvings on the chapel.
