Ex Voto (1888)
First edition, inscribed by Samuel Butler (BII EXV 1888.1)
The Sacri Monti (Sacred Mountains) of Piedmont and Lombardy are devotional complexes integrated into the natural landscape and dedicated to various aspects of the Christian faith. Constructed during the 16th and 17th centuries, their topography was intended to replicate the Holy Places in Jerusalem and Palestine which were becoming increasingly difficult for European pilgrims to access. Many of the chapels and kiosks house significant collections of artwork in the form of wall paintings and sculptures, depicting scenes from the life of Christ, the Virgin Mary or the Saints. The paths leading up to the Sacri Monti often evoke the Via Dolorosa, the road from Jerusalem to Calvary along which Christ carried the Cross.
Situated 600m above the historic centre of Varallo, the Sacro Monte di Varallo (founded in 1491) is the oldest of its kind. Over the course of 20 years Butler studied the painting, sculpture and architecture of its 45 chapels, paying particular regard to the work of Gaudenzio Ferrari (1475-1546) and Giovanni Tabachetti (1567-1615).