by Stefania Severi
The door constitutes the place of exchange between what is outside and what is inside, in physical and above all metaphysical terms. A door represents a challenge and a goal for the sculptor in his career
For every sculptor, and this also applies to Benedetto Pietrogrande, the creation of a church door represents a very important commitment. The artist is in fact aware of the high symbolic value of this work: the door constitutes the place of exchange between what is outside and what is inside, in physical and above all metaphysical terms. It is enough to remember, above all, the doors of the Temple of Solomon, of which in the I book of Kings an exact explanation is given regarding the types of wood, the decorations and the gold leaf covering. A door, even from a purely technical point of view, presents various problems: it is a challenge between what is flat and what is three-dimensional; it implies a complex vision of the whole that takes into account what is at the level of the user's gaze and what is above and below it; it must allow the harmonious use of both the particular and the general without disharmonies between the various parts; must take into account the relationship with the architectural structure; it must respond to the needs, values and intentions of the client. In short, a door constitutes a challenge and a goal for the sculptor in his career. Benedetto Pietrogrande has already created, in addition to numerous public works, mainly sacred, including panels of the Via Crucis, altars, ambos, tabernacles, baptismal fonts and devotional statues, including monumental ones, also two bronze doors: one for the church of Scaldasole (Pavia ), in 1993, and one for the church of S. Martino degli Svizzeri in the Vatican, in 1999. For San Giuseppe al Trionfale the artist was therefore called to a new commitment and he was able to respond not only with professionalism but also with particular sensitivity in relation to the contents and the place.
It should be noted that the compositional scheme was imposed on the artist; in fact he had to create 10 panels, measuring 65 x 65 cm, in relation to the pre-existing wooden door of the Basilica, which was preserved not only for mere economic reasons (in fact it is evident that a door of this size completely in bronze would have entailed very high costs higher), but also because that door had belonged to the Milan Cathedral and had reached Rome thanks to the direct intervention of Don Guanella. But it was also the Saint's wish to give greater prestige to the Basilica he founded with bronze doors. Therefore, the chosen solution, enriching the door already in situ with bronze tiles, complied with the various needs.
At this point the dialogue between client and artist in relation to the subjects of the various panels was important. A brief observation can clarify the age-old and specious dispute between artistic freedom and constraint due to the subject proposed by the client. Certain contemporary criticism maintains that if a subject is imposed on an artist, his freedom is automatically limited. This statement actually conceives freedom not as free expressive choice but as a mere arbitrary vision, devoid of references to reality. For example, the theme of the flight into Egypt, in addition to being essential in a work celebrating Saint Joseph, is a theme that refers to a text, in this case evangelical, but it is then up to the artist to develop it in the ways he deems most adequate. Think in this regard of the countless paintings on this subject by many artists of different eras. And think of the 22 engravings made by Giandomenico Tiepolo, all different and beautiful, proving that that theme was a stimulus for him and not a limit. The subject is in fact an incentive for the true artist, a testing ground to compare himself with those who have faced this subject before him and to be able to create a new and original version of it, his "his".
But is Benedetto Pietrogrande's work for San Giuseppe al Trionfale a door or a portal? In a technical architectural sense: the door is made up of one or more mobile elements that open and close a passage; the portal is the architectural structure, simple or complex, to which the door is hinged. However, the term portal has also become widespread to indicate a door of large size and importance. Therefore both terms are suitable to indicate the work for San Giuseppe.
Coming therefore specifically to analyze Pietrogrande's work, it is necessary to make some considerations on his modelling, which is characterized by a management that takes into account both the natural form of reference and a need for synthesis, typical of art starting from the 20th century. The result is synthetic but never schematic plans, which keep alive the effect of a stroke of the spatula or thumb on the original clay.
On these divergent planes, light and shadow chase each other lightly, without ever giving rise to overly marked effects. Therefore it is not the plasticity of the form but the slight roughness of the surfaces that characterizes the whole. We are faced with a sculpture with a very limited relief which sometimes relies on graffito or a flattened relief - one would be tempted to use the Renaissance and Donatellian term "stiacciato" - to obtain the various levels of depth. The effect is of a vibrant and diffused luminosity, which must certainly be ascribed to the great artistic tradition in which Pietrogrande was trained, which is the Venetian one.
Having studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Venice constitutes not only a biographical fact but a distinctive sign of his plasticity. Having then worked mainly in Milan, where he was also a teacher, he later gave the artist that inclination towards natural data which has been typical of that regional school since time immemorial. The brightness of the panels as a whole is particularly harmonious thanks to the extensive treatment of the background planes, which allow the light to spread along the entire perimeter of the door, to balance the shadow of the portal which could have created more incisive darkness. Each tile is characterized by a compositional rhythm that is organic in itself but which, at the same time, harmonizes with that of the neighboring tiles, so that the entire sequence is harmonious.
Proceeding from top to bottom, from left to right, the subjects of the panels are: Sant'Ambrogio and San Carlo Borromeo, whose presence is closely linked to the will of San Luigi Guanella who would have wanted them on the door of "his" church ; Saint Pius X and Our Lady of Providence; four panels relating to Saint Joseph, respectively the dream, the escape into Egypt, the work in Nazareth and the Transit; San Luigi Guanella with the Blessed Chiara Bosatta and the Venerable Aurelio Bacciarini with Don Leonardo Mazzucchi.