According to the Sarasota Herald Tribune, the eight hand-carved dioramas were dedicated on March 2nd of 1975. The March 3rd article explains that the carvings were created by St. Augustine artist Vincent Maldarelli, but the artist passed away before his work on the "Gardens" could ever be displayed. Representing five years of Maldarelli's life, the series was inspired by a carving the artist created of Leonardo's Last Supper. The figures are carved out of balsa wood with clothing and settings extensively researched by the artist, who went to the Middle East to research the project. Each of the scenes has an accompanying recording that plays continuously describing the subject matter and its bible reference. The dioramas were in storage for six years before the artist's sister arranged for them to be displayed in Sarasota.
Some of Maldarelli's other Florida works are sculpture of Ponce de Leon and Pedro Menendez in St. Augustine. The artist was born in Italy and came to the US at the age of four. His father was a jewelry designer for the Tiffany company in New York.
The Nativity
Child Jesus in the Temple
Raising Jairus' Daughter
The Crucifixion
After the Resurrection
The Nativity
Child Jesus in the Temple
Raising Jairus' Daughter
The Crucifixion
After the Resurrection
Well, this is really kind of fabulous! There seems to be more of this type of attraction (my favorite type) in your neck of the woods. The way gas prices are going, I may have to wait until Doomsday to see them.
ReplyDeleteHow sad that The Gardens of Christ, in which the artist Vincent Mandarelli had invested so much research and work, is left without any maintenance.
ReplyDeleteThe beautiful dedication is left unnoticed, even though the words are so meaningful.
Hoping that someone will find a seed faith to honor the wishes of those who contribute to this masterpiece, and to the amazing dedication.
We visited Sarasota Jungle Gardens on June 29, 2022 for the first time. We followed the park map and were so disappointed that the Garden of Christ was shut down, hopefully they are restoring it soon.
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