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Antonio Moscheni made his own paints
using vegetable dye
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The painter Antonio Moscheni was born on this day in 1854 in the town of
Stezzano, near Bergamo in Lombardy.
Educated at the prestigious Accademia Carrara in Bergamo, where he
studied with accomplished masters, he learned the most advanced techniques. He
also spent a year in Rome studying the masterpieces of the Vatican.
When he returned to Bergamo his ability was in great demand. He was
commissioned by many churches in the city and the surrounding area and his work
at the Sanctuary of Madonna del Campo in his home town of Stezzano was
particularly admired.
He exhibited his work in Milan and Turin and had the prospect of a
brilliant career ahead of him.
However in 1889, at the age of 35, Moscheni turned his back on fame to
enter the Society of Jesus, enrolling himself as a lay brother.
But it was not the end of his career as an artist. Aware of his
talents, his superiors wasted no time, once his novitiate was completed, in
despatching him to Croatia and Albania to work on Jesuit churches, and on his
return sending him to Piacenza and Modena .
Moscheni is perhaps best known for the extraordinary frescoes he
created in the chapel of St Aloysius College in Mangalore , India .
St Aloysius, situated in the state of Karnataka in south-west India,
was built by Italian Jesuit Missionaries in 1880 and the chapel was added four
years later. A beautiful building, it would not look out of place in Rome
and the Baroque extravagance of Moscheni's work, which adorns almost every
available wall space and ceiling, makes it unique in India .
The chapel welcomes thousands of visitors each year simply to marvel at
Moscheni's art for the vibrance of his colours and the intricacy of the detail.
Scenes depicted include the life of St. Aloysius, who as the Italian
aristocrat Aloysius Gonzaga became a Jesuit and was studying in Rome when he
died at the age of just 23, having devoted himself to caring for the victims of
an outbreak of plague.
Also painted are the Apostles, the lives of the Saints and the life of
Jesus. The picture of Jesus with a group of children on the rear wall, opposite
the main altar, is considered the best of Moscheni’s work.
The artist's skill enabled him to create the illusion of three
dimensions, so that figures painted on flat walls, for example, appear at first
glance to be statues.
Another interesting feature is the chapel floor, all of which is paved
with stones brought from Bergamo which again creates the perception of three
dimensions. Visitors at first can mistake the tiles for steps.
Moscheni went to India in 1898 and remarkably, often hanging precariously from
scaffolding, he painted the entire 829 square metres of surface area
single-handed, using paints he made using vegetable dyes. The whole project took two and a half years.
Moscheni was also asked to decorate the Hospital Chapel at Kankanady, a
local church and the Seminary of Mangalore before being invited to paint
frescoes at the Holy Name Cathedral in Mumbai.
Moscheni moved from there to the Basilica of Santa Cruz at Fort Kochi,
in the state of Kerala, at the personal invitation of the Bishop in 1905.
Sadly, Moscheni fell ill with dysentery while he was working there, although he
battled against the illness and finished the job.
He died in November 1905, four days before the consecration of the
church, and is said to have been buried at the Carmelite Monastery in
Manjummel.
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| Villa Moscheni is still a private home |
Stezzano, situated just outside Bergamo, not far from the airport at Orio
al Serio, marked the 100th anniversary of the death of Moscheni in 2005 when a
bust created by a local sculptor, Learco Campana, was unveiled in the
Biblioteca Comunale.
Moscheni's home in Stezzano, the Villa Moscheni, in Via Carrara Beroa,
is still in private ownership and includes some frescoes by Moscheni.
The historic centre of Stezzano is of medieval origin and has changed
little in appearance. It is mainly characterised by former farmhouses and four
substantial 17th century villas - the Villa Zanchi, Villa Morlani, Villa
Maffeis and Villa Moroni, which dominates the picturesque Piazza Libertà.
The grand parish church of San Giovanni Battista is a short distance
away in Piazza Dante. The Sanctuary of Madonna dei Campi, which has works by
Moscheni, can be found a little out of the centre, on the road towards Grumello
del Piano.
