Pieter de Witte in Volterra

After his artistic training in Florence, Pieter de Witte arrived in Volterra in 1578, the town where he was summoned in order to start the pictorial renovation of the Cathedral. Candido left three paintings of great importance in Volterra, three large altarpieces which represent the only works of art of the Italian period which can be attributed to him without a minimum of doubt.

The first altarpiece, still preserved in its original location in the Cathedral, represents "The Presentation of Volterra to the Virgin by its Patron Saints" commissioned from Pieter de Witte by Captain Francesco Giorgi from Volterra, known as Buini or Bovino, and signed and dated 1578.

The composition is divided into two parts: on the upper part of the wooden panel stand the imposing figure of the Virgin and three angels, and in the lower part the figure of the man who commissioned this work can be seen, kneeling down, and turning to look at the individuals pointing to the scene above him. The Patron Saints who present the town to the Virgin are: Giusto, Clemente, Vittore, Ottaviano and Francesco.

This work of art, an oil on wooden panel, represents the first of the new works of art that in a few decades transformed the internal appearance of the Cathedral. Guido Serguidi, nominated bishop of Volterra by the Medici, devoted himself to this renewal.

The other two altar pieces, today displayed in the Municipal Art Gallery, were originally located in the Church of San Salvatore in the Badia of San Giusto and San Clemente on Mount Nibbio. They represent the Adoration of the Shepherds, dated to about 1580, in which the artist takes up the issue of religious meditation looking at the newly born Christ, and the grandiose and dramatic Lament over the lifeless Christ.

In the Adoration Jesus is surrounded by the Madonna, Saint Joseph, and by two shepherds bringing gifts. In the foreground the man who commissioned the work, Domenico or Giusto Verani, turns to look at the viewer.

The Lament, considered his masterpiece, is the most esteemed work of art of the period the painter spent in Volterra. There are vivid emotional characteristics influenced by the works of art that Rosso Fiorentino created in Volterra. In this work Candido also displays his complete artistic maturity, being inspired by the same sources of the Florentine art, and also embracing "counter-reform" ideas in a rich composition full of pathos, although mingled with a bright and surreal use of colours.