Painting of the Madonna della Catena

Artist: Attributed to Filippo Jannelli (overpainted circa 1858 by the painter Caggiano) 

Commissioned by:

Date: 17th century

Medium: Oil on canvas

Dimensions:

Provenance: Church of Madonna della Catena, also known as San Gaetano

The current state of the work derives from a repainting carried out in 1856 by the painter Caggiano, who replaced or profoundly reworked the original painting, modifying in particular the figure of the Child.

The canvas comes from the main altar of the church of the Madonna della Catena, later also called San Gaetano. According to Piaggia, the building is believed to have been founded in the Aragonese era. The church, which still exists in the old town, is now deconsecrated and is in an advanced state of deterioration due to prolonged abandonment and the action of atmospheric agents. The original likely dates to the 17th century and can be tentatively attributed to the painter Filippo Jannelli (Castroreale, 1621 – Santa Lucia del Mela, 1696). This proposed attribution is supported by the compositional structure, characterized by a rigorous pyramidal construction of Counter-Reformation derivation, widely spread in Sicilian devotional painting of the 1600s, as well as by the posture of the Virgin, which recurs in the artist's works.

At the base of the composition are Saints Lawrence, Stephen and Bartholomew; at the top dominates the figure of the Virgin, surrounded by a crown of angels, who holds the Child on her knees and carries a chain in her hand, the main iconographic attribute of this Marian title. The iconography of the Madonna della Catena originates from the established devotional tradition that developed in Palermo at the end of the 14th century.

According to the hagiographic legend, in 1392 three men, unjustly imprisoned and sentenced to death, miraculously obtained their freedom after invoking the intercession of the Virgin, whose chains were said to have broken miraculously. The episode favoured the spread of the cult throughout Sicily and subsequently in southern Italy, leading to the creation of numerous sacred buildings, confraternities and figurative representations dedicated to this Marian title.

From a symbolic point of view, the chain constitutes the sign of the liberation brought about by Mary and alludes to her role as mediator in the salvation of humanity, capable of breaking the bonds of physical imprisonment and the slavery of sin. Popular devotion therefore recognized the Madonna della Catena as a special protector of prisoners, the persecuted, sailors and, more generally, of those who found themselves in situations of great need. Within traditional Sicilian religiosity, her patronage was also invoked during difficult childbirths, symbolically interpreting the "breaking of the chains" as a metaphor for liberation from the difficulties of childbirth and for a successful birth.

 attribution by Domenico Le Donne