Imagines Pietatis. La scultura senza tempo di François Cerise.

The exhibition has been extended until October 20, 2024

The fascinating Sarriod de La Tour Castle in Saint Pierre hosts an interesting exhibition dedicated to the talented Aosta Valley sculptor François Cerise.

The presence in the castle of some masterpieces of fifteenth-century wooden sculpture in the Aosta Valley, such as the extraordinary shelves of the Hall of Heads, the panels from Introd and the Lamentation over the Dead Christ by Jean de Chetro made it the ideal venue to pay homage to one of the undisputed protagonists of traditional Aosta Valley sculpture of the twentieth century (1932-2020).

Trait-d'union between the works on permanent display and those temporarily on display is the "Imago Pietatis", a subject that enjoyed great favor in European sculptural production in the 15th century and was also particularly loved by Cerise. The Lamentation by Jean de Chetro is matched by the Pietà by Cerise, who has expressed the theme in various versions: a comparison in which the present and the past are inserted on the same emotional lines, intertwining with the sense of the sacred, timeless and without borders cultural.

The dialogue also involves the pictorial decoration of the castle, animated by figures of saints who, over the centuries, have reached François Cerise's Aosta studio.

Obtained from ancient wood coming from roof beams, from the architraves of centuries-old fireplaces or from bell stumps, Cerise's works are more modern than ever in their powerful humanity. They arise from an expressive impulse that has roots in local culture, in Cerise's personal sensitivity, in the technical characteristics of the wood that he sculpted.

The exhibition can be visited from Tuesday to Sunday with an accompanied visit (in Italian only) at 4.00 pm.