The Vision of St. Philip Neri GIOVANNI BATTISTA TIEPOLO     c. 1726

The Venetian artist painted this altarpiece for the Church of St. Philip Neri, Camerino, Italy. The likeness of the Saint is considered accurate because he adopted Guido Reni's Neri, which is considered the standard for the by then well known features of the Oratorian Saint.

Saint Philip Neri (1515-1595) was a humble yet extremely influential figure in the Counter-Reformation Church, being a counselor to popes, a spiritual adviser to Carlo and Federico Borromeo, and a close friend of Ignatius Loyola's. He was the founder of the Oratorian congregation, famous for its music, which brought together lay people and members of religious congregations from all walks of life to participate in devotions. Tiepolo was commissioned to provide an image of the Madonna and Child appearing to the Saint while he kneels in prayer; he soon discovered that the altarpiece would hang in a very high position in the right transept of the church.

Because it was so difficult to view the altarpiece, Tiepolo brought the Saint's figure forward in his piece, setting him in profile before the Madonna and Child, who in turn occupy a higher and more ample position in the picture space.  While the delicate, heavy-lidded Madonna is a refined version of the more statuesque type Tiepolo had earlier planned, the appealing Christ Child and the charming Correggio-like Angel directly below him lend the altarpiece an air of sentiment and sophistication that is appropriate to its Oratorian subject.

Another notable change in the altarpiece is the introduction of a more elaborate architectural setting, again an alteration that probably arose from details Tiepolo received from his patron regarding the context in which the painting would hang. The new Oratorian church had been built by Pietro Loni and Domenico Cipriani in a light, modern Baroque mode, and the Foschi chapel was decorated with stucco reliefs with scenes from the life of Saint Philip Neri. Tiepolo therefore designed an elegant setting of white stucco and polished green marble, adding a prominent piece of sculpture in the background, identifiable as a representation of Saint Paul, who was especially revered by Philip Neri, but which is not viewable in our copy of the altarpiece.






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