SCULPTOR
FOR THE VENERANDA FABBRICA OF MILAN CATHEDRAL
IN THE DUOMO, A PIECE OF ME
VENERABLE FABRICA
OF MILAN CATHEDRAL
In 1992 Elena Mutinelli was selected by the Veneranda Fabbrica del Duomo of Milan to take on the role of sculptor for the Cathedral Works; a commission that remained active until 2005 for the reproduction of the Duomo’s sculptures and ornaments in Candoglia marble, carved by Mutinelli in her own studio, to replace the originals: spires, finials and flying arches, worn by time.
From 2003 to 2005 she was commissioned by the Veneranda Fabbrica del Duomo of Milan to lead the stonemasons’ workshop at the Opera Prison (MI), teaching them to faithfully reproduce, from the original model, the sculptures and ornaments of Milan Cathedral.
Milan Cathedral finial, on the left my face, on the right the original model
FIRST SNOWFLAKE July 1992
In my first test I decided to replace my face with that of the original model.
If the Duomo hadn’t confirmed my assignment, at least my face would have been on the cathedral’s spires forever!
The left bow is a copy of the original; I decided to replace my face with that of the model on the right. It was the first ornament I touched with my own hands and brought to life with the chisel.
To untrained eyes, there is no trace of who worked on the bows or the flying buttresses, apart from the internal documentation in the employment records with the Veneranda Fabbrica del Duomo di Milano.
Sometimes, beneath the base of the originals—by then already replicas of the past—were the initials of the stonecutters who had carved them centuries earlier.
I fell in love with every ornament and sculpture I touched, and there—even if no one knows it—my face is hidden on a bow, who knows where. Sometimes I wonder who will replicate this piece in the future, and what matters most to me is the thought that this sculpture will remain, while I—and virtual metadata—will not. Too many, by now... And we won’t be able to touch them, and we won’t know how to save them, to make them perhaps eternal.
As soon as Biem, my elderly and esteemed site foreman, came to inspect the result of this first piece, he clearly noticed my face impressed in the sculpture, but he said nothing. He looked straight into my eyes in silence for a very long time... And then he kept assigning me Duomo ornaments, which allowed me to devote myself fully to my own sculpture too, enabling me to keep my studio open in Milan.
The only thing Biem absolutely demanded was an expressive finish that would not diminish the Duomo’s work, but make it vibrate. He wanted the light and the sharp line of the chisel to be alive, confident, and fluid across the planes.
The sculptures had to be perfect, even when seen from afar.
From the Duomo—and above all from the site foreman, who, though strict, was very patient with me—I learned to use only sharp chisels and claw chisels. I felt the vision and the time of those who loved art in the shadows, and all that heritage of history that lives in the Duomo’s spires.
I thank Engineer Morling and Mr. Biem, who is no longer with us, for giving me a unique opportunity, allowing me to devote myself wholeheartedly to my sculpture.
I first entered the Archbishop’s Palace by knocking on the door with a portfolio and a single request: <I am a sculptor, I can work marble, I would like to work for the Fabbrica del Duomo di Milano> and, apart from the secretary—visibly a little resistant—Engineer Morling told me: <Let’s try. You’ll start a first trial piece in July>. I closed the door, greeted the secretary with her unexpected kind reply.
After many years of collaboration, I ran the stonecutters’ production workshop at the Opera Prison (MI), teaching life-sentence inmates to faithfully reproduce, from the original model, the ornaments and sculptures of the Duomo of Milan. Maybe by now, since then, the secretary has changed too... Who knows.
Elena Mutinelli
