This particular sculpture is by the Sicilian Renaissance sculptor, Antonello Gagini, who lived between the years 1478-1536 and who in fact came from a family of sculptors. In fact, it is said that Gagini worked with no less a master than Michelangelo himself, assisting him in some of the sculptural works Michelangelo undertook -- such as the tomb of Pope Julius II found in the Roman church of San Pietro in Vincoli.
Gagini's sculpture of the Madonna di Tripani, located in the convent's Cappella della Madonna di Trapani, is considered an important work of sculpture in the Sicilian Renaissance. It must be said that it is arguably equal in beauty to the aforementioned statue found in Tripani itself -- which is to say nothing of the beauty of the chapel that surrounds this statue, filled as it is with the usual polychromatic works of inlaid stone that characterize works of the Sicilian baroque.
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| Cappella della Madonna di Trapani |
The entire space is a comprised of a beautiful array of vine-work as well as floriated patterns and ornament. This motif is similarly found on the mantle and robe of the Virgin herself, while beautiful gold gilding accentuates the various features of both the Virgin and the Child.
