The magister of Meldola commandry and the church of San Giovanni Battista

Abstract

The article Il Maestro della Commenda di Meldola e la magione ospitaliera di San Giovanni Battista treats the decorations of the small church of San Giovanni Battista in Meldola, where there was a domus of Knights Hospitaller of St. John of Jerusalem.
The first part of it investigates the history of the monastic-military property in Meldola. In fact, just before the Hospitaller, the church of San Giovanni had been part of the commandry of Santa Maria Biacque, estate of the Knights Templar. After the trial of the Templars (1312) the building complex passed to the Knights Hospitaller, who had another commandry called San Giovanni of Palareto, near Meldola. In the mid-15th Century the knights probably decided to redecorate the church of San Giovanni Battista with wall painting which represent Mary, Child Jesus and John the Baptist.
The second part of the article deals with the artistic culture, the conservation and the style of this fresco. In particular, it shows the relation between Meldola's frescos and a group of other wall paintings existent in the province of Forlì. This group of paintings is considered part of the works of an unknown painter of the 15th century. This painter was highly influenced by late gothic culture of Romagna art. Moreover, it seems like he knew some innovation of the regional Renaissance. For this reason we have collected his paintings in a new catalogue and we have conventionally named the painter Maestro della Commenda di Forlì.