Lombardy, 14th century, Panels with the Sormani family coat of arms and portraits

Lombardy, 14th century

Tiles with the Sormani family crest and portraits

(3)Tempera on panel, 17 x 38 cm

Between the 15th and 16th centuries, especially in Lombardy and Piedmont, in noble residences and public buildings it became fashionable to decorate the ceilings with painted wooden panels: the 'ceiling panels' or 'formelle'. The birth and spread of the use of painted panels in architecture can be traced back to the Middle Ages in Europe and in Italy in Alto Adige and Trentino, essentially in castles and noble residences. The ceilings of the large rooms were made of wood, made with long beams that ran across them in the width direction, fixed into the wall with a load-bearing function and equipped with corbels to relieve the weight. Small wooden beams at regular distances between beams completed the structure of the ceilings, giving rise to square or rectangular geometric panels. The space created by the meeting between the main beam and the beams perpendicular to it was used to insert the panels, as a decorative element.

The painted panels, mainly made in tempera with a lively chromatic range, represent a fundamental testimony of the artistic and cultural expressions that flourished in northern Italy, particularly in Lombardy and Piedmont, between the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. This period, between the Gothic era and Humanism, was characterized by a marked predilection for color, which extended to the decoration of every domestic surface, transforming interiors into real narrative spaces. The panels, therefore, were not simple decorative elements, but real "repertoires of civilization", capable of immortalizing celebrations and scenes of everyday life. Unlike other contemporary pictorial productions, local painting on panels, with rare exceptions, is distinguished by its predominantly profane character. Iconographic analysis reveals some dominant subjects and ideas that permeated the culture of the time. Family prestige emerges as a central theme, expressed through the representation of coats of arms of families united by complex marital and political alliances. Literary culture, both ancient and contemporary, found space in the depictions, as well as the dreams and visions of the collective imagination. Figures of ladies and gentlemen frequently appear, immersed in contexts that exalt their social status. Dancing, musical and playful cherubs meander through festoons, flanked by a varied bestiary, which includes both real animals and fantastic creatures.

The widespread presence of coats of arms is another characterizing element of these works. The noble families were immortalized on these valuable wooden pages, leaving an indelible trace of their presence and power. And in fact, in the tablets under examination the coat of arms of one of the oldest and richest families of Milan appears: the Sormani family, as can be clearly seen from the figure of the rampant lion holding a turreted castle in his hands. A very ancient patrician family of Milan, originally from Sormano, an alpine village in the mountains of Vallassina. The first historical information dates back to Ottone De Solmanno, di Anselmo, a partisan of Frederick Barbarossa in the fight against Milan. The Sormanis held important public offices, such as that of decurion, and were linked to other noble Milanese families, contributing significantly to the history and culture of the city. Their name is particularly linked to the figure of Giacomo Sormani, who in the eighteenth century commissioned the renovation of the Palazzo Sormani in Milan, now home to the Biblioteca Comunale Centrale, one of the most important examples of neoclassical architecture in Lombardy. Over the centuries, the family boasted jurists, men of letters and men of arms among its members, consolidating its prestige. Even today, their name is remembered in various places and institutions, testimony to their lasting impact on the city of Milan and Lombardy.

The remaining two forms present two portraits of a woman and a young man, treated in profile according to the fashion of the time, influenced by numismatics and classical portraiture.