Il restauro della statua lignea di Sant'Andrea. Arpino, monastero del Colle

ENGLISH
The Restoration of the Wooden Statue of Saint Andrew. Arpino, Monastero del Colle

The paper deals with the conservation work done on the wooden statue of Saint Andrew, hitherto unpublished. The image of Saint Andrew – the Apostle, together with Saint Benedict, is the patron of the homonymous church at Arpino (Frosinone, Lazio) – was moved in 1625 from its original setting and kept in a nearby female monastery. The original statue was carved from solid walnut; late changes, undertaken at the beginning of the 15th cent. (probably in 1437), have been ascertained during the restoration carried out by Ch. Munzi, G. Amendola and the writer. The original unique features of the face, the hair, the beard and of the garments have come up to light showing that the iconography of the Apostle looked at the iconographic tradition sketched by Cavallini in the church of St. Cecilia, Trastevere. The typology however of the frontal enthroned figure derives from early Gothic prototypes scattered in several places in Umbria and Tuscany. As far as the style is concerned, one may compare our statue with the Tuscan statuary set in Naples by Tino di Camaino and his followers, mainly by Pacio Bertini. Taking all the collected documentation into account, one might suggest a date of the wooden statue within the first half of the 14th cent., suggesting also Naples as the place of its provenance.