In Il Perdono di Gesualdo, how is the abstract discussed?
Il Perdono di Gesualdo (in English, The Pardon of Gesualdo) is an altarpiece created in 1609 by the Florentine painter Giovanni Balducci for a commission from the madrigal composer Carlo Gesualdo, Prince of Venosa, of the kingdom of Naples. Conserved in the private chapel of Gesualdo's church, Santa Maria delle Grazie, the painting underwent important restorations in the late twentieth century, following the destructive Irpinia earthquake of 1980.
A unique testimony, in the field of religious painting, to the devotion of the composer prince, Il Perdono di Gesualdo has been the object of numerous commentaries and analyses since the seventeenth century. These interpretations, focusing on the musician's murder of his adulterous wife and her lover, have shrouded the artwork in mystery.
In the early twenty-first century, art historians and musicologists agree that certain ambiguities in the Perdono reflect the fascinating personality of its patron. The American musicologist Glenn Watkins believes the painting to be the only authentic portrait of Gesualdo.
Florentine Glenn Watkins kingdom of Naples altarpiece Gesualdo Irpinia earthquake of 1980 Giovanni Balducci Carlo Gesualdo Venosa madrigal