<Article>Leonardo and the Gonfalon of Piety: A Contribution to the Attribution Theory

Abstract

This article will examine the case of the Gonfalon of Farneto (Perugia), representing the Virgin mourning the Dead Christ (Pietà) between St. Jerome and St. Mary Magdalene. This banner was attributed to the Umbrian painter Fiorenzo di Lorenzo and later (in particular starting from the '80s) to Pietro Perugino. A closer analysis reveals the presence of the intervention of different painters. This poses the question of workshop composition in the 15th Century Italian Renaissance. In this case, the question is particularly relevant because Perugino belonged to the workshop of Verrocchio together with Leonardo da Vinci. When in a workshop we find only minor painters it is not so important to individuate the contribution of each painter, but the case is different for painters of primary importance like these. Therefore, another problem arises: how to distinguish each contribution? To this aim we have to retake the problem of the theory of attribution, going back to their founders like Morelli. Now today have more theoretical instruments than one century ago. But we also need a new epistemological framework passing from the true/false paradigm to probabilistic one adopted today by deep learning AI systems. In this way, a new alliance between art-history and digital technology is today possible.