Castelnuovo Nigra, Giacomino da Ivrea, Piedmont
1440-1450

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Giacomino da Ivrea, Detail from the series of the Nine Worthies: Joshua (fragmented), King David and Judas Maccabeus, fresco, c. 1440/50, from the Castello di Villa Castelnuovo

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Nel 1980 venne casualmente scoperto, per la caduta dell'intonacatura sovrapposta nei secoli successivi, il cosiddetto Ciclo dei Prodi di Villa Castelnuovo, un affresco databile verso il secondo quarto del XV secolo, che era nei ruderi di quella che doveva essere la sala di rappresentanza del castello. A causa della condizioni di degrado dell'edificio, per salvaguardare l'opera, nel 2004-2005, i dipinti che compongono il ciclo furono staccati, trasportati su pannello, restaurati ed esposti presso il Museo archeologico del Canavese di Cuorgnè

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Giacomino da Ivrea (?), Ciclo dei Prodi di Villa Castelnuovo (particolare di Re Davide) Cuorgnè, Museo Archeologico del Canavese

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Ancient heroes are portrayed in life-size, like knights who have just dressed in armor and are ready for combat. What remains of the recovered fresco shows in an almost complete manner four of the nine Prodi: they are Judas Maccabee, King David and Julius Caesar and a fourth hero whose cartouche has not been preserved, but who can perhaps be identified (due to the three crowns appearing on his shield) with King Arthur. Of a fifth and a sixth personage, only parts of the armor and shield are visible: one bears the emblem of the sun (which might suggest that it is Joshua), the other that of the three arrows. Nothing is left of the other three Prodi who were painted on the same wall.
With reference to the author of the pictorial cycle of Villa Castelnuovo, datable to the second quarter of the fifteenth century, the critics have proposed, on the basis of historical and stylistic considerations that appear sufficiently proving, his identification with Giacomino da Ivrea.
The frescoes of the “cycle of the Prodi of Villa Castelnuovo” are kept in Cuorgnè at the Archaeological Museum of Canavese.

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Le Cycle des Neuf Preux au Château de Castelnuovo (Piémont)
The recent discovery of the monumental painting at the Castelnuovo castle in Piedmont reopened the question of the distribution and reception of the canon of the Neuf Preux in Italy. Probably painted by Giacomino of Ivrea between 1430 and 1440, this piece was part of a programme of refurbishment of the castle by its owner, Umberto, count of San Martino of Loranzo and Castelnuovo. The cycle is composed of a series of six knights in armour, and fragments of two others, equipped with shields. An analysis of the heraldry allows a description of the subjects represented: the Neuf Preux, a chivalrous representation following the theme of distinguished men. The comparison with two coats of arms from Lorraine from the end of the 15th century have, in fact, revealed the identity of the heros. The project at Castelnuovo is thus the fourth group of mural paintings attesting the success of Preux in Italy, in the 15th century.

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Castelnuovo Nigra is a comune (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Turin in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 40 kilometres (25 mi) north of Turin. It is formed by the union of two villages: Sale Castelnuovo and Villa Castelnuovo