Giovanni of Capestrano as novus Bernardinus. An Attempt in Iconography and Relics

Abstract

Bernardino of Siena (1380-1444) and Giovanni of Capestrano (13861456), both preachers and among the most relevant figures of the Observance, shaped that branch of the Franciscan Order during the first half of the fifteenth century. After Bernardino’s death in 1444 Giovanni zealously promoted his friend’s canonization, which occurred in 1450. The Observants’ first sanctified friar signaled the official legitimacy of this branch of the Order and Giovanni subsequently tried to establish L’Aquila, Bernardino’s place of death, as the center of the Franciscan reform movement. By exploring the visual impact of Giovanni of Capestrano’s mission and preaching north of the Alps (1451 to 1456), this contribution analyzes Central European iconographical manifestations of the Observance’s protagonists in the second half of the fifteenth century, considering written sources as well as material culture. Firstly, this article investigates how Capestrano used the monogram of the Name of Jesus, ‘IHS’ in a golden glory of rays, a formula invented by Bernardino that became vital to his iconography. During his sojourn in Central Europe Giovanni further promoted the cult of Bernardino. Consequently, representations of the Sienese saint, the monogram and Giovanni proliferated in regions where the latter had preached and operated. The article’s second focus aims at shedding light on the relation of material culture and pictorial representation in the Observant milieu. Giovanni’s walking stick, his crucifix, and presumably also his pax – all objects that were venerated as contact relics – can be found depicted together with his effigy. This strategy went along with a general tendency of increasing importance of secondary relics during the Quattrocento. Furthermore, these objects were employed in the process of visual amalgamations between the depictions of Observant friars. Based on, but also looking beyond the recent monograph on Giovanni of Capestrano’s iconography and a handful of transcultural analyses of the pictorial representations of Bernardino and Giovanni in Central and