Avidité et trahison du bien commun. UNe peinture infamante du XIIIe siècle

Proposing a new interpretation of an inscription included in a painted fragment in the Palazzo della Ragione in Mantua, the article proposes to interpret the fragment as the earliest extant “pittura infamante”, realized to punish citizens who had deliver the to the enemies the castle of Marcaria in 1251 and have been banished for this reason. The iconographic motif of the purse hanging from the neck the painting includes is an invitation to think about how attitudes against the bad administration of public resources was defined in Italian cities in Middle Ages, and more largely on how images were used to convey the ideological messages.

Sulla base di una nuova lettura di un’iscrizione conservata nel Palazzo della Ragione di Mantova, l’articolo propone di reintepretare la pittura in cui l’iscrizione è inserita come una delle prime testimonianze di pittura infamente giunte fino a noi, realizzata per punire i cittadini che avevano consegnato ai nemici il castello comunale di Marcaria nel 1251. La presenza dell’iconografia della borsa al collo porta a riflettere sulla definizione dei comportamenti contrari alla buona gestione delle risorse pubbliche nei comuni italiani del Medioevo e, più in generale, sull’uso delle immagini per veicolare messaggi ideologici. Starting from an inscription held at the Palazzo della Ragione in Mantua, this article reinterprets a painting where this inscription was inserted as one of the first instances of a defamatory painting, made to punish those citizens who had turned the municipal castle of Marcaria in 1251 over to their enemies. The iconographic motif of the purse hanging from the neck is an invitation to think about how attitudes contrary to the good management of public resources was defined in Italian cities in the Middle Ages, and more largely how images were used to convey ideological messages. Sur la base d’une nouvelle lecture d’une inscription conservée au Palazzo della Ragione de Mantoue, l’article propose de réinterpréter la peinture au sein de laquelle cette inscription est insérée comme l’un des premiers témoignages de peinture infamante parvenus jusqu’à nous, réalisée pour punir les citoyens qui avaient remis aux ennemis le château communal de Marcaria en 1251. La présence du motif iconographique de la bourse autour du cou conduit à réfléchir à la définition des comportements contraires à la bonne gestion des ressources publiques dans les communes italiennes du Moyen Âge et, plus largement, à l’usage des images pour véhiculer des messages idéologiques.