You arrive in the third room of the Pinacoteca Albertina and Cavarozzi's painting suddenly appears: a powerful beam of light illuminates the scene, striking the child Jesus and those around him.
The glow envelops St Joseph who looks with infinite sweetness at Mary and the little one; the old carpenter has large, rough hands. The bare-footed Virgin is wrapped in a rich blue cloth mantle that encircles her and all of us, protecting us between its wide, soft folds. We can almost hear the rustling of the beautiful cloth with every little movement of the Lady. The baby is wrapped in a scalloped linen sheet that her toddling has made fall from her mother's womb to the ground. Blond and rounded, he looks stern and a little frightened by our presence. Maria is also looking at us, but with infinite sweetness.
Suddenly you hear footsteps behind you and a voice comments: 'You are looking at one of my favourite paintings. Years ago, I don't remember where, there were three paintings by the same author arranged next to each other, a marvel!" The voice belongs to an elderly man with a white beard and cane who strides through the room with the mastery of someone who knows the picture gallery inside out. About to cross the threshold of the next room, he adds: '... because there is nothing you can do: either you are a good painter or you are not -tertium non datur' Shortly afterwards, silence returns.
You sit on the bench in front of the painting and continue to contemplate it until you lose track of time. Unexpectedly, the rattling of the tram in the distance brings you back to the present. It is time to continue your visit and discover the other works in the gallery.
- The work: Bartolomeo Cavarozzi, Holy Family, Art Gallery of the Albertina Academy Turin
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