“Palla lignea inaurata cum pictura Beate Marie Virginis in medio, et variis misteriis”. Due nuovi frammenti della pala agiografica di Matteo Cesa a Santa Maria di Sargnano

The paper discusses two previously unknown elements of the hagiographic altarpiece by Matteo Cesa for the church of Santa Maria di Sargnano that recently appeared on the antiques market. The work, which was recorded during pastoral visits in the 17th and 18th centuries and known to local scholarship in the 19th century, was removed, taken out of its frame and cut into pieces in about 1892. The fragments, which were pieced back together by Federico Zeri and other scholars starting from 1975, were only restored to their original location after the discovery of a drawing by Giovanni Battista Cavalcaselle, produced during his visit to the church between late 1865 and early 1866. The altarpiece, composed of ten narrative elements that depict the episodes of the life of the Virgin, is now missing only the scene with the Annunciation.