Four terracotta high reliefs

Tribuzio Vergelli (Attr.a)

(Camerino 1551-Recanati 1609)

4 terracotta high reliefs depicting biblical scenes

cm. 32 x 25
The four high reliefs represent scenes from the Old Testament made in bronze by Tivulzio Vergelli for the right door of the Loreto cathedral and it is assumed that the terracottas are sketches of the bronze work.
On the facade of the Basilica of the Holy House of Loreto there are three magnificent bronze doors, the result of the prestigious school of sculpture that flourished in Recanati between the end of the 16th and the beginning of the 17th century. They were commissioned by Cardinal Antonio Maria Gallo, rector of the sanctuary between 1587 and 1620, for the Jubilee of the year 1600. They represent scenes from the Old Testament designed to spiritually guide the pilgrim towards the mystery of the Incarnation, of which Santa Casa is testimony . The central door was created by Antonio di Girolamo Lombardo, with the collaboration of the brothers Pietro, Paolo and Giacomo. Begun in 1590, it was only completed in 1611. Above, in a niche, there is the bronze statue of the "Madonna and Child", from 1583. The right door, considered the most beautiful, was commissioned from Antonio Calcagni in 1590 who conceived it and largely shaped it. Having died in 1593, it was completed in the year 1600 by his nephew Tarquinio Jacometti and Sebastiano Sebastiani, who reworked and integrated the original project. The Left Door was commissioned in 1590 to Tiburzio Vergelli who, in collaboration with Giovan Battista Vitali, finished it in 1596. It is considered a masterpiece of technical mastery, compositional harmony and ornamental decoration