La Madonna delle Grazie di Grottaferrata: una proposta per la gioventù di Giovanni di Biasuccio da Fontavignone

The essay focuses on the attribution of the Madonna delle Grazie from Grottaferrata to the Aquila born sculptor Giovanni di Biasuccio, active between 1460 and 1490. The statue in question, now in the local Museo dell'Abbazia but originally from the Basilian church, has so far been regarded as the late 15th-century work of a sculptor from across the Alps. By setting out from the evident indebtedness of the object to the work of Donatello and Desiderio da Settignano, and from its past attribution to Francesco Laurana, on the basis of stylistic and technical affinities the statue is here connected to the early career of Biasucci. It is therefore suggested that the latter may have been in touch with the Neapolitan milieu centred around the cosmopolitan workshop responsible for the Triumphal Arch at Castel Nuovo. The paper, which seeks to shed light on certain aspects pertaining to the early career of the sculptor, further suggests that the master from Abruzzo be credited with the execution of two wooden statues of St Roch (Rieti cathedral) and a Saint (unknown location).