Parmigianino alla Steccata

The vault is undoubtedly a symbolic celebration of the qualities and titles of Mary and a representation of their opposites, but its organization is that of an illustrated encyclopaedia, divided into the kingdoms in nature: earth, water, air (with flowers and animals, sea shells and crustaceans, birds), and fire, the celestial sphere, represented by gold. While the Indices speciales of Latin Patrology make it possible to establish easily the Biblical correspondence with the objects of each category, the collector’s taste, so to speak, seems to be inspired by Pliny (to whom one can also relate the Kunstkammern) and by medieval encyclopaedias. The Virgins can be seen as being part of the bridal procession, arranged according to the likely general plan later partially followed on all the arches, therefore 24 in number; but they could also be generic Saints, as in the medieval mosaics that Parmigianino certainly saw, especially the ones in the Roman basilicas dedicated to the Virgin Mary (Santa Maria Maggiore, Santa Maria in Trastevere), and the mosaic cycles in Ravenna. They appear as “statues of exceptional beauty, dressed with the robes worn by virgins, with their hands raised and carrying sacred objects on their heads, in the fashion of Athenian women.” The canephores, mentioned thus by Cicero in his Oration against Verres,[1] were attributed to Polykleitos; Raphael (or an assistant of his) had already drawn inspiration from these figures in The Fire in the Borgo, turning them into water carriers. Their positive or negative characterization is indicated only by whether their lamps are alight or not, rather than by their appearance, attitude or garments.

[1] Cicerone, In Verrem, II, IV, 3, 5.