Alte Meister
| Abbildung | Nr. | Titelbeschreibung (20 Lots ) | Schätzpreis |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vos, Maerten The Holy Family. Oil on panel. 95,5 x 72 cm. Signed and dated by the author with the monogram 'MV' 1560 under the Child's feet (faded). - Antique frame, gilt and carved. Provenance: Private collection. The painting is certified by Didier Bodart, 31 august 2011 (estimated 100.000-120.000 euro). The scholar adfirms that «La Sainte Famille est un excellent exemple des premières oeuvres peintes par le maître anversois après son retour d'Italie, témoignant à la fois de l'influence de son maître Frans Floris et de la connaissance de la Renaissance italienne. Par là, elle est parallèle à son Saint Paul à Malte (Paris, Musée National du Louvre) et à son Saint Paul à Ephèse (Bruxelles, Musée Royaux des Beaux-Arts de Belgique) tous deux peints en 1567 pour la salle à manger du marchand anversois Hooftman. De même, nous pouvons rapprocher la Sainte Famille étudiée ici de l'Incrédulité de Thomas (Anvers, Koniklijk Museum vor Schone Kunsten), de 1573; de Jonas précipité dans les flots (autrefois Berlin, Kaiser Friedrich-Museum); les fragments de l'autel des argentiers (Anvers, Saint-André); les Scènes de la vie de Saint-Antoine (Anvers, Koniklijk Museum vor Schone Kunsten); la Cueillette de la Manne (Munich, Alte Pinakoteke, n° 10931) et Abraham et Melchisedech (autrefois Londres, Collection Schapiro)». The work is a classical composition modeled on the so-called Holy Family of Francis I, painted in 1518 by Raphael and his workshop, and currently presented in the Louvre (see photo in the following page). This familiar scene is recreated in a Doric palace in Tuscany: the Holy Virgin is holding Jesus, while Elisabeth takes John on her knees. In the background, Joseph looks on the scene in an attitude of meditation. Even if the compositional scheme is pretty much the same of Raphael's picture, there are features that emphasize the different provenance of the two paintings. The most evident difference lays in Vos' interpretation of the subject, that conveys a fable atmosphere and involve the observer emotionally, whereas the classical composure of Raphael's figures is expression of aesthetical beauty, but, elevating the subject to the status of model, makes it quite unapprochable and far from people's intimate sensitivity. The indoor setting typical of Northern genre painting, as well, transmits a sense of affectionate participation. Maerten Vos was the founder of the Society of the Romanists, which brought together artists, connoisseurs and humanists who had travelled to Rome and appreciated its humanist culture. Martin (or Maerten, or Maarten) was trained by his father Pieter de Vos and, then, by Frans Floris. He travelled to Italy in order to study the Renaissance style in Rome and Florence and, finally, he settled for a period in Venice where he became one of Tintoretto's pupils. After his coming back to Antwerp, he entered the guild of the painters as a Master and was made Decane in 1571. His production includes religious, mithological and allegorical subjects, as well as portraits, mostly realized for the guild and leading institutions of his town. His activity as a drawer, particularly fruitful between 1580 and 1585, provided the Flemish engravers with many good subjects for their works. Literature: Karel van Mander, Schilder-boeck, Haarlem, Passchier van Wesbusch, 1604; C. Ridolfi, Le Meraviglie dell'Arte (Venice, 1648), edited by D. Von Hadeln, 2 vols, Berlin, 1914-1924 (quoting Vos during his stay in Venice at the atelier of Tintoretto, as specialist in landscapes); M.M.L. Netto-Bol, The So-called Maarten de Vos Sketchbook of Drawings after the Antique, in «KSN», IV, The Hague 1976; A. Zweite, Maerten de Vos als Maler. Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte der Antwerpener Malerei in der Zweite Hälfte des 16.Jahrhunderts, Berlin, 1980. | 60000 |
| 2 | Magnasco, Alessandro Portrait of a Lady with a pearl. Oil on canvas, 96,5 x 79 cm. - Oval gilt and carved frame. Provenance: Private collection. This painting presents a mature Lady, half-length, letting a pearl fall into a goblet of vinegar in the style of Cleopatra. In spite of the serenity inspired by the matronly, three-quarter pose and by the simplicity of the dress and the drapery, there seems to be a challenge in the woman's bearing. She stares directly at the observer, while performing the action that made the queen of Egypt's disdain for wealth famous. There is a faint smile on her lips as she conceals her regal superiority behind the calm appearance dictated by good manners. The features of the face and her pose recall Magnasco's own Ritratto di dama (A Lady's portrait), to be found in the permanent collection of the Fondazione Terruzzi at Villa Regina Margherita (Bordighera, Italy). Increasingly fashionable throughout the 16th and 17th centuries, the art of portraiture caught Magnasco's attention in the first part of his career, and his mastery of it probably formed the basis of the incredible skill in characterization he demonstrated later with trademark diminutive figures in landscapes and genre pieces. Alessandro Magnasco, known also as Il Lissandrino due to his short size, was the son of a minor Genoese painter. On the death of his father, he was taken to Milan and installed as an apprentice at the workshop of the painter Filippo Abbiati. There he came in contact with the contemporary Venetian style he would adopt, characterized by strong contrasts of light and the use of mellow brushwork. Although his first works were half or full length portraits, Magnasco's fame came through his small, peculiar human figures, suggested by a few, rapid brushstrokes, and populating natural settings or indoor spaces. Between 1703 and 1709-1710, he settled in Florence, working for the Grand-Duke Cosimo III and his son Ferdinando, who greatly appreciated his often phantasmagoric genre scenes and landscapes. For landscapes, Magnasco, started to collaborate with Antonio Francesco Peruzzini, a painter specializing in natural scenes. Until the death of Peruzzini in 1724, the two artists returned to Milan where they produced together several landscapes, filled with small figures and ancient ruins. The peculiar style of Magnasco and the unusual subjects of his works, such as services in a synagogue, robbers' conspiracies, and natural disasters, granted him patronage and commissions until the end of his life. Literature: E. Camesasca-M. Bona Castellotti, Alessandro Magnasco 1667-1749, Catalogue for the exhibition at the Palazzo Reale of Milan, Art Books Intl Ltd., Electa, 1996; V. Magnoni, Alessandro Magnasco, Roma, Edizioni Mediterranee, 1965; M. Pospisil (edited by), Magnasco, Firenze, Alinari, 1944; for more information about the Ritratto di dama in the Fondazione Terruzzi see www.fondazioneterruzzivillamargherita.it. | 12000 |
| 3 | van Streeck, Juriaen Still life with a Delft jar, a flute of beer and an orange. Oil on canvas, 68 x 55,5 cm. Gilt frame, signed J. v. Streeck at the left lower corner. Provenance: Collection Sévène-Blanchet, Switzerland. The brightly coloured objects of this still life, with their intense highlights, stand out luminously against the rich, dark background. The light is variously reflected by the silver platter, the opalescent fish, the white porcelain and the glass flute. The refined game of reflection and refraction has a meaningful correspondence in the semantic role performed by the elements of the composition. Fish and beer, so typical of Northern Europe life, are placed in chiastic arrangement with an orange and a Delft jar that recalls the style of Wan-Li porcelain. The symbolic arrangement of West and East underlines at once the power of Dutch commerce and the deeply entrenched influence of the orient in northern Europe. Van Streeck regularly deployed the motif of the orange; in fact, the use of citrus fruits and oriental porcelain together was tantamount to a personal signature, visible also in his painting entitled Snack (circa 1670, Hermitage Museum). Juriaen Van Streeck was one of the most famous baroque Dutch still life painters, even if he was known as a portrait painter as well: according to Houbraken, Van Streeck excelled in quite all subjects, including books and letters, musical instruments and helmets, skulls or dead animals that ought to remind the transcience of life. In prior literature he is described as a follower of Wilhelm Kalf and a model for Barent van der Meer. Van Streeck married in 1655 and around 1680 he gave up painting to become an innkeeper. His son Henry van Streeck was also a painter, specialized in historical subjects and interiors of churches. Only a small number of paintings by Van Streeck are offered on the art market, while many of them are housed in renowned institutions in Munich, Vienna, Stockholm and Paris (Louvre). Literature: G.U. Grossmann, Stilleben und Tierstücke, SØR Rusche-Sammlung, Universität Münster. Zentrum für Niederlande-Studien, Netherlands. Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie, LIT Verlag Münster, 2004, pp. 232-35; A. Houbraken, De groote schouburgh der Nederlantsche konstschilders en schilderessen, Amsterdam, 1718-1721; F. Ribemont, B. de Boysson, O. Le Bihan, P. Richard, Les raisins du silence: chefs-d'oeuvre de la nature morte européenne du XVIIe et du XVIIIe siècles, Bordeaux, Musée de Beaux Arts de Bordeaux, 1999, p. 104; John and Mabel Ringling Museum of art, F. Westcott Robinson, W. Harry Wilson, L. Silv er, Catalogue of the Flemish and Dutch paintings, 1400-1900, Sarasota (FL), John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, 1980; A.P.A. Vorenkamp, Bijdrage tot de geschiedenis avn het hollandsch stilleven in de zeventiende eeuw, Leiden, Hollandsche Uitgeversmij, 1933. | 50000 |
| 4 | Preti, Gregorio The Incredulity of Saint Thomas. Oil on canvas, 126 x 101 cm. - Recent frame in antique style, carved and gilt. Provenance: Private collection, Pavia. Here it is the cold glow of a candle, rather than the oblique light of Caravaggio's paintings, that takes the characters out of the darkness. This seems to be the main feature of Gregorio Preti's personal Caravaggism, shown in this work as also in two other of Preti's canvases: Christ and the Tribute Money and the Lamentation over the dead Christ. The dramatic use of the light is refined: the artist allows Christ and the Apostles to appear from the near-black background as figures emerging from dark water, their faces and bodies caressed by an impenetrable obscurity. Jesus, on the left, stares at Saint Thomas as a patient father looks at his stubborn child, while he touches the wound in his side. On the faces of the other Apostles are featured differing degrees of doubt, astonishment and curiosity. The dark nuances of Preti's palette lead us to place this painting in the early years of the artist's career, presumably before the 1640s, when he had been combining Neapolitan and Roman Caravaggism with interesting results. Moreover, no influence of the work of Mattia Preti, Gregorio's younger, but more famous brother, can be detected here, whereas it is a constant in his later paintings. Certain facial identifications connect this canvas to Gregorio's works of the early 17th century. Christ's face in the Tribute Money's painting (sold at Christie's Rome, sale of the 4th december 2002 lot 475, price realized _ 49.600), for example, has very similar features to this very one, and the bald-headed apostle appears in several other works, such as the Christ disputing with the Doctors (National Gallery, London) and the canvas Susannah and the Elders (Vibo Valentia, private collection, see photo in the previous page). Gregorio Preti went to Rome from the South of Italy when he was very young in order to become a painter. His style was deeply influenced by the radical works of Caravaggio, both realistic and dramatic. Thus we can locate his early works half-way between Neapolitan Caravaggism and Roman Classicism. At some point in the 1630s, his younger brother Mattia joined him Rome and in a few years subsumed Gregorio's art. He became Mattia's best imitator and assistant until the end of his life. Gregorio's artistic importance and his strong relation with his brother have been recently researched and described in essays by John Spike. Literature: J. T. Spike, (editor), Il taglio della luce. Il chiaroscuro nella pittura di Mattia e Gregorio Preti, catalogue of the exhibition of Viterbo, Palazzo degli Alessandri, 16 december 2004-30 January 2005; J. T. Spike, Gregorio Preti. I dipinti, i documenti, Firenze, Centro Di, 2003; R. Vodret and G. Leone (editors), Gregorio Preti, calabrese (1603-1672), un problema aperto, catalogue, Cinisello Balsamo, Silvana Editoriale, 2004; C. Carlino, Gregorio Preti, da Taverna a Roma (1603-1672), Reggio Calabria, Iiriti Editore, 2003. | 20000 |
| 5 | Reni, Guido Ecce Homo. Oil on canvas, 63 x 47 cm. - Carved and gilt frame. Provenance: Hume Collection, lot 74, titled Head of our Saviour on the Cross, simply referred to as "Guido". The description reads: «It is painted with much taste and expression; the eyes and mouth are beautifully marked; it is slightly executed, but far superior to his leaden tone of colouring. Purchased in London». Published in Sir Abraham Hume, A Descriptive Catalogue of a Collection of Pictures, comprehending specimens of the all the various schools of painting: belonging to Sir Abraham Hume, London, Nichol, 1824. Paper label of the Hume Collection at the back of the canvas. This painting was in the renowned collection of Sir Abraham Hume and belongs to the wide series by Reni (or by his workshop) portraying Christ crowned with thorns. It is a subject that Guido started elaborating and developing in various ways from the 1620s onwards. Jesus' face, suffering and raising the eyes to the sky, captures the viewer's attention with the utmost degree of drama, enhanced by the close framing and by the nature of the subject itself, based on the public exhibition of the scourged body of the Messiah to the Judaeans. The pathos of Christ's countenance later became Reni's most characteristic trademark, often imitated by numerous followers and pupils, that made of it the conventional representation of the mystical pain. As to its date, critics have proposed the third decade of the 17th century. Their evidence rests on the stylistic proximity with a canvas now kept at the Detroit Institute of Arts, dated c.1630. The two works are, in fact, very similar. In both cases, light fills Christ's eyes, which are completely absorbed by celestial energy. Grace, a typical characteristic of Reni's style, is here sublimated into rapture. A key feature of Reni's work is light, which he used to create shapes and figures. He was able to produce the effect of contours fragmenting, delicately softening the textures in his pictures. Reni based all his production on the idea of 'truth', as this canvas demonstrates: the viewer faces a version of Christ who is incredibly human in his sorrows, a man standing 'naked' in front of us, literally divested, left without dignity, humiliated. Guido Reni is indubitably one of the most prominent figures of 17th century Italian art. Following in his renowned father Daniele's footsteps, Guido studied and practised music in his youth but in 1584 he entered the workshop of the famous Flemish artist Denijs Calvaert in Bologna. After a few years, he joined the Accademia del Naturale, the city art academy founded by the Carracci brothers in 1582, later known as Accademia degli Incamminati (1592). Venerated by his contemporaries, Reni fell suddenly into a prolonged obscurity, especially in the 18th and 19th centuries when critics, including John Ruskin, went so far as to condemn his style. Only in the 20th century, would he be re-established as an Old Master, supported by the publications of critics such as Hermann Voss and Roberto Longhi. Literature: A. Emiliani, Guido Reni, Firenze, Giunti, 1988; C. Gnudi, Guido Reni, Paris, La Bibliotheque Des Arts, 1955; H. Janitschek, Die Malerschule von Bologna: Die Caracci, Guido Reni, Domenichino, Albani, Guercino, Leipzig, E. A. Seemann, 1879; R. Longhi, Momenti della pittura bolognese: prolusione al corso di storia dell'arte nella R. Università di Bologna, Bologna, Azzoguidi, 1935; Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Kimbell Art Museum (edited by), Guido Reni, 1575-1642, catalogue of the omonimous exhibition, Bologna, Nuova Alfa Editoriale, 1988; C.C. Malv asia, Life of Guido Reni, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania State Press, 1980; S. Pepper, Guido Reni: a Complete Catalogue of his Works with an Introductory Text, New York, New York University Press, 1984; G.J. Salv y, Guido Reni, Paris, Gallimard, 2001; R.E. Spear, The "Divine" Guido: religion, sex, money, and art in the world of Guido Reni, New Haven, Yale University Press, 1997; G. Wimböck, Guido Reni (1575-1642): Funktion und Wirkung des religiösen Bildes, Regensburg, Schnell & Steiner, 2002. | 50000 |
| 6 | Maratta, Carlo Madonna at prayer. Oil on canvas, 73,5 x 62 cm. - Gilt frame. Provenance: Private collection, Como. This serene Madonna at prayer was painted in the 1670s or 1680s, and is attributed to Carlo Maratta and one skilled assistant. This may have been Niccolò Berrettoni, creator of paintings whose iconography closely resembles Maratta's own. Among Maratta's works, many paintings can be found to be compared with the present Madonna: the most obvious being such examples as La Vergine col Bambino in the Vatican Museum and the Louvre's Il sonno di Gesù con angeli musicanti (Jesus' Sleep with Angelic Minstrels, 1697) (see photo below). In Maratta's Visitazione, displayed at the church of Cura di Vetralla, the Virgin's expression prefigures the canons of Neoclassicism, the new artistic taste that manifested itself at the end of the 18th century and that this work already reveals. In the archive of the Fondazione Federico Zeri there is a record of another very similar (but perhaps lost) version of this painting (under the inventory number 59628, indicated as 'School of Carlo Maratta'). We can exclude that the painting quoted by Zeri is the present painting before the restoration, because in the above composition there are some elements which do not appear anymore in the offered painting (i.e. the different vest of the Holy Virgin). A figure of exceptional elegance, this is a notable example of Maratta's interest in the classical tradition of sculpture. Maratta's classicism represents the culmination of a long stylistic tradition that began with Raphael and was later reinvigorated by the expressive naturalism of Annibale Carracci, the compositional and dramatic clarity of Domenichino, and the refined understatement of Andrea Sacchi. Carlo Maratta was native of the central Italy and studied in Rome under the painter Andrea Sacchi. The education he received induced him to continue the tradition of the classical Grand Manner, heir of Raphael's style, though the rethorical splendour of his paintings is completely Baroque. In 1650 he started to work for the papacy, realizing important paintings as the Constantine destroying the idols now housed in the baptisery of the church of Saint John in Lateran and many altarpieces for Roman churches. Due to his skill in cleaning and repairing frescoes, Clement XI employed him to restore Raphael's work in the Vatican palaces and the same pope, in 1704, made him Knight of the Order of Christ. His numerous Madonnas and his canvases of religious subject were among the representations of the Counter-Reformation's dogmas most appreciated by his contemporaries. He was also architect and etcher, in confirmation of his versatile talent. Literature: F.S. Baldinucci, Vite di artisti dei secoli XVII-XVIII (1725-30), (edited by A. Matteoli), Roma, 1975; G.P. Bellori, Vita di Carlo Maratti pittore scritta da Gian Piero Bellori fin all'anno mdclxxxix, Pisa, Capurro, 1821; A. Blunt, Maestri romani del Sei e Settecento: Domenichino, Sacchi, Lanfranco, Bernini, Pietro da Cortona, Testa, Mola, Sassoferrato, Maratta, Panini, Piranesi, Firenze, Alinari, 1980; R. Contini, Seventeenth and Eighteenth Century Italian Painting (Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection), London, Philip Wilson, 2002; M. Missirini, Memorie per servire alla storia della romana Accademia di S. Luca fino alla morte di Antonio Canova, Roma, nella Stamperia de Romanis, 1823; A. Riegl, A. Hopkins, The Origins of Baroque Art in Rome, Los Angeles, Getty Publications, 2010; A. Sutherland Harris-E. Scharr (editors), Die Handzeichnungen von Andrea Sacchi und Carlo Maratta, Düsseldorf, The Museum, 1967. | 25000 |
| 7 | Procaccini, Giulio Cesare Sacrifice of Isaac. Oil on canvas, 119 x 88 cm. Initialed in the right lower corner GCPF (Giulio Cesare Procaccini Fecit). - Ancient elaborated gilt and carved frame "a cartocci", with coloured compartments. Provenance: Private collection, Milan. Published by Ugo Ruggeri in "Critica d'Arte", LXVII, n. 21, march 2004, p. 51, plate 6. Certificated by Ruggeri himself, 10 april 2004. This Sacrifice of Isaac, among the few works signed by the artist (a dozen, more or less), has the painful grace of a farewell to painting: it is probably one of Giulio Cesare's last works, when he was already one of the most successful painters in the lively Milanese market. It has the wavering beauty of the senile work of an artist that, although prematurely aged, does not give up testing, mixing the manners yet crowding into his style with his youth's abandoned vocation. About this painting, Prof. Ugo Ruggeri wrote that «the work places itself among the Giulio Cesare's most interesting signed paintings, also due to the clear links with the formal world of Camillo Procaccini, the artist's elder brother, with whom he reaches Milan in 1585, from Bologna. Compared with Camillo's manner, though, still essentially related with the Bolognese high maniera's world with just some mention of the naturalism of Passerotti and Carracci, this Sacrifice of Isaac presents some new hints combining Giulio Cesare's cultural background with his new Lombard experiences, influenced by Cerano and Morazzone. The emphatic scheme of the composition shows Giulio Cesare's spatial mastery and can conveniently be compared with other works of his, like the large Pietà of the church of Gavardo and that of the Kunsthistorisches Museum of Vienna, but also The angels Michael and Raphael taking Mary Magdalene to the sky with Christ blessing on a copper foll, belonging to the Herlitzka Collection of Buenos Aires, presumably dated back to the second decade of the 17th century. There are more analogies, however, between this painting and later works as the Relics of the Passion shown to Constantine in the pinacoteque of the Castello Sforzesco of Milan, signed and dated 1620, while the complex spatial chiasmus of the figures is typical of Giulio Cesare's paintings of the last period of his life as the Cain and Abel of the Accademia Albertina of Turin, signed and dated 1623, and the version of the same theme displayed at the Archiepiscopal Gallery of Milan, presumably coeval. The landscape background on the left, with the sacrifical goat half-hidden in the brumble bush, brings to the attention the alignment with the naturalistic interests of Tanzio da Varallo, already clear in the Saint John the Baptist in the desert of the Philbrook Museum of Tulsa, datable 1627-1629, and in some other works with similar formal conception. This circumstance contextualizes in the latest phase of Giulio Cesare Procaccini's activity this painting that, with its extraordinary dramatic power, combines the Correggio's style beauty of Isaac and the angel's faces with the wrathful force of Abraham's expression, in a mixture of languor and rage typical of the great Lombard artist». In spite of being son and brother to painters, who arrived in Milan in order to take part to the decoration of the huge cathedral dome, Giulio Cesare starts his artistic career as a sculptor and just around 1600 devotes himself to painting: at the end of his life, however, reviewing his path, he seems to come back to his early vocation as if, after meeting Rubens in Genoa, he would like to create painted sculpture. This new masterpiece, positively attributed to Giulio Cesare after the cleaning that revealed his acronym, was definitely made during the last five years of the artist's life and it is a clear evidence of this coming back to a massive conception of pictorial space, to a formal congestion to be seen in other Procaccini's late works as Abraham welcoming the three angels, store at Palazzo Madama in Turin (see photo below). Besides Abraham's reverent solemnity, the Turinese canvas shares with the present one the morphology of the childish faces resembling Parmigianino and Correggio's style, already used by Giulio Cesare in the Annunciation of the Acerbi chapel in the church of Saint Anthony Abbot in Milan, and in the almost contemporary Annunciation of the Koelliker Collection. As for its power and dramatic impact, the painting is comparable to another late Procaccini once belonging to the Corsini Collection of New York, the Arrest of Jesus (signed as well and sold at Sotheby's New York 29 january 2009, lot 58, price realized $ 962,500) with whom it shares the interplay between victim and executioner not just in the literary choice of the subject, but rather in its pictorial expression: the moderate tension of Abraham and the executioners' muscle mass, easy to guess under the clothes, and the innocent resignation of Isaac and Christ both lifting their eyes to the sky. Literature: R. Soprani, Le vite de' pittori, scoltori et architetti genoesi, Genova, 1674; H. Brigstocke, G. C. Procaccini reconsidered, in Jahrbuch der Berliner Museen, 1976; S. Coppa, La cronologia della cappella Acerbi in Sant'Antonio Abate a Milano, in Arte Lombarda, voll. 58-59, pp. 85-89; M. Rosci, Giulio Cesare Procaccini, Soncino, 1993; A. Morandotti, Pittura Italiana Antica. Artisti e Opere del Seicento e del Settecento, Milano, 1995; H. Brigstocke (edited by), Procaccini in America, London & New York, 2002; H. Brigstocke, Maestri del '600 e '700 Lombardo nella Collezione Koelliker, Milano, 2006. | 90000 |
| 8 | Crespi, Giovan Battista Saint Francis receives the stigmata. Oil on canvas, 85 x 59,5 cm. - Ancient carved, black and gilt frame. Provenance: Private collection, Milan. The Franciscan order, the main purchaser of Cerano's works together with cardinal Federico Borromeo, probably commissioned this work with the saint showing the stigmata on his hands and side. The mistical rapture shows through the pale face of St. Francis, who is lifting his eyes to the sky in extasis, but the divine ravishment does not seem to be the only cause of his painful look, that conveys a deep suffering which is purely human. The simple devotional composition and the fusion of thick shades of colours with light contrasts after the Bolognese way, date the painting back to the first decade of the 17th century, when a series of half-length portraits of St. Francis by Cerano inspired the style of Francesco Cairo (see the version at Pinacoteca di Brera, Milan). Recently reassessed as one of the masters of the Milanese art between 16th and 17th century by the studies of Marco Rosci and Mina Gregori, Giovan Battista Crespi embodies the Lombard phase of transition from the late Mannerism to the Baroque style, embracing the dictates of the Counter-Reformation. Giovan Battista Crespi was the son of the painter Raffaele Crespi, who became his master, and was called il Cerano because of his early move to the omonimous village near Novara. His first paintings were deeply affected by the influence of Gaudenzio Ferrari, Bartholomeus Spranger and Federico Barocci, while, after his removal to Milan and the journey to Rome in cardinal Federico Borromeo's train, his works acquired the realistic conception of the Bolognese Carracci brothers and a mistical connotation that anticipates the Baroque and Counter-Reformation style. In the mature phase of his career, Cerano was considered among the most important artists in Milan, working side by side with the Procaccini brothers and Morazzone; as a mark of esteem, in 1620 cardinal Federico Borromeo appointed him head of the Accademia Ambrosiana, where Cerano had among his pupil the painters Daniele Crespi, Carlo Francesco Nuvolone and Melchiorre Gilardini. Literature: H. Chisholm , Encyclopaedia Britannica, Cambridge University Press, 11th edition, 1911; M. Rosci, Crespi, Giovan Battista, detto il Cerano (anche Cerrano e Serrano), in "Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani", 2009 (on-line version); N. Ward Neilson, Three drawings by Giovan Battista Crespi, called Cerano in "Master Drawings", Vol. 9, n. 4, London, Master Drawings Association, Winter 1971, pp. 364-66, 417-19; N. Neilson, Daniele Crespi, Soncino, 1996; F. Frangi, in Pittura a Milano dal Seicento al Neoclassicismo, edited by M. Gregori, Cinisello Balsamo, 1999; E. Langmuir, Review: Il Cerano, in "The Burlington Magazine", Vol. 147, n. 1227, London, The Burlington Magazine Publications Ltd., June 2005, pp. 426-428. | 22000 |
| 9 | da Ponte, Francesco From the Collection of Felipe V and Isabella of Spain Lamentation over the Dead Christ. Oil on canvas. 61 x 75 cm. - 17th century frame called Salvadora, gilt with plain grooves. Provenance: I. Published in the Official Catalogue (2004, see literature) of the paintings of King Philip V of Spain (1683-1746) and his wife Elisabetta Farnese (1692-1766) called Isabella. The painting, whose Spanish name was Entierro de Cristo, was stored in the splendid picture gallery of La Granja Palace (usually referred to as the «petite Versailles») at Segovia, registered no. 11 in the inventory of 1746 - in the lower right corner of the painting, the number 11 and Elisabeth Farnese's heraldic fleur-de-lis are picked out in red and white. The presence of the fleur-de-lis seems to indicate that ab origine the painting belonged in the Parma collection of the Farnese princes and that, just afterwards, it was brought from Italy to Spain in 1714, on the occasion of Elisabeth and Philip's marriage. It is also possible, however, that the painting was given to Elisabeth by Philip V, whose father had been a great admirer of the Bassano painters and owned several canvasses by both Jacopo and Francesco. Among them, were two works each now on display in the Prado: Adam Reproached, a large piece bequeathed to Philip IV by prince Filiberto of Savoy; and The Return of the Prodigal Son, given by the Duke of Medina. II. After the death of Isabel, the painting passed to her son, Don Luis de Borbón y Farnese, infante of Spain and Count of Chinchón. It was stored in the valuable collection of the palace of Boadilla del Monte (its inventory number, B 69 can be seen in the lower left corner of the painting), where it remained until the Spanish Civil War (1936) together with other extraordinary canvasses by Goya, Rembrandt, Dürer and Velasquez, many of which were sold by the heirs in the following years. A number of pictures from the Colección Real-including some by the Bassano painters- were exhibited for a while at the castle of Villaviciosa, where the Spanish painter Antonio Ponz could admire them during his Viage. As Aterido says, «among them there was presumably the Entierro de Cristo, now in a private collection in Madrid, which shows clear traces of its wandering through the galleries of the first Spanish Bourbons: besides the fleur-de-lis and the corresponding number in white, in the lower left part of the painting a letter B and another numeration are drawn in red. This last acronym testifies that it was inventoried afterwards in the palace of Boadilla del Monte (hence the initial 'B') where it would have been collected with the Teniers and the Brueghel that Ponz describes in the building designed by Ventura Rodríguez». The paintings that Elisabeth Farnese used to keep in her Madrid estate did not just enlarge the collections of her sons. Each son in his own way was deeply influenced by Elisabeth's taste, yet her paintings were sold in large numbers at public auction. After selecting the goods they wanted to keep for themselves, in fact, the Spanish royalty opened the sale in January 1768 in the palace of Buenavista. Having sold the palace, they moved in October 1769 to the Casa de los Pandos, on San Jerónimo avenue. The auction's results were disclosed in 1793, but the document cited only a small part of the sold works. It is possible that this work had already been sold by the Spanish royal family in 1768. Note about the frame: The Salvator Rosa, also called Salvadora, is a kind of frame that became popular since the middle of the 17th century. It was named after the Neapolitan painter Salvator Rosa (1615-1675) who preferred to have his oil paintings' frames built by himself. The simple outline of his frames was deeply appreciated at his time and spreaded so much that it is often used even nowadays. This model, typical of the Roman and Southern Italy area, owns its popular appeal to the characteristic wooden carving whose elegance comes from a series of mouldings rising up outwards. The Salvadora of the Neapolitan area can be distinguished by a larger carving and the silvering. The Roman and Latium one, smarter, is usually gilt, with two or three series of carvings, or simply black or natural. In the second half of the 17th century, some pieces can be found with tortuga or semi-precious stones marquetry, or marbled as well: its characteristic decorations set the Salvadora apart from all the other frames, even of the same period. The belt is characterized by an inner edge called battuta and by an outer one, called profilo, that can be plain or have carvings with a leaf pattern. Quite frequently, a peculiar cord is present, as well, thin and twisted, carved and gilt. Francesco da Ponte, the favourite son of Jacopo, often cooperated with him, and learned to imitate his work brilliantly. During the 1570s they carried out together a series of important works like the valuable altar piece with St. Paul's Sermon in the church of Saint Anthony in Marostica (1574) - the first of the paintings they made together, through which Francesco attained his father's artistic status. See also four altarpieces and three altar platforms for the church of Civezzano, and the Circumcision of the Civic Museum of Bassano (1577). Both the Bassano painters collaborated on this subject which, due to its extraordinary pietas, enjoyed great repute among its purchasers and was recreated more than once by Jacopo and Francesco. The most renowned version is in the Louvre, that Arslan dates to c.1580-82. Our version, not inferior to the Parisian, can be placed in the same couple of years. After all, its presence in the prestigious collection of the Kings of Spain guarantees its superlative quality. The light on the Redeemer's body is that of a single, modest candle. The glow of silent radiance illuminates both the death of Christ and the exigent life in Magdalen's uncovered bosom and golden hair. The scene is enshrouded in silence, with the possible exception of the lips of the Virgin: slightly opened in astonished sorrow rather than lamentation, as her open arms confirm on inspection of her son's mangled body. Christ's figure is in transition, abandoning itself to a death resembling sleep - a calm, somewhat childish sleep - as if Bassano, behind the tragedy, wishes to inform us of the forthcoming resurrection. Maybe it is in this thoughtful silence and quiet repose that the novelty of this speechless lamentation lies. Literature: Published in A. Aterido, J. Martinez Cuesta, J. J. Pérez Preciado, Colecciones de pinturas de Felipe V e Isabel de Farnesio, vol. I, Madrid 2004, with a photograph of the painting at p. 280, fig. 204, and in vol. II, p. 355, no. 38 bis: «Entre ellas, posiblemente estaría el Entierro de Cristo de colección particular madrileña, que presenta marcas ostensibles de su periplopor las pinacotecas de los primeros Borbones españoles: junto a la flor de lis y su número correspondiente en blanco, figuran en rojo una letra B y otra numeración. Esta última señal evidencia que fue inventariada posteriormente en el palacio de Bohadilla del Monte, de ahí la inicial, donde se reuniría con los Teniers y Brueghel que el mismo Ponz describe en el edificio proyectado por Ventura Rodríguez». E. Arslan, I Bassano, vol. I, Milan 1960, p. 361 (Louvre version); A. Ponz, Viage de España, Madrid, Ibarra, 1772-94, vol. 17, II, p. 302. | 70000 |
| 10 | Klöcker Ehrenstrahl, David Allegory of Music. Oil on canvas. 106 x 74,5 cm. Bearing on the reverse an inscription in sepia with artist's full name. - Carved and gilt frame. Provenance: Private Collection, Rome. The soft and sensual treatment of the skin is certainly derived from Pietro da Cortona. The milky and velvety texture is obtained through a wise combination of light and shades. In particular, he seems to have learnt from Pietro's allegories and mastery of compositional devices, movement, colour, and use of light. The latter can be observed at work with great skill in the chest, face and the right arm where the bodily presence seems dissolved and the edges of the figure gently blend into the dark background. At the same time, however, the oeuvre reveals the influence of French academic classicism. Such a reference not only explains the choice of the subject, but also Ehrenstrahl's ability to infuse a sense of transcendent grace in order to reduce the blatant impact with the woman's physical presence. This is especially evident when observing the figure's face, and it is likely that Ehrenstrahl read Le Brun's posthumously published treatise Méthode pour apprendre à dessiner les passions (1698) in which the author, following Nicolas Poussin's theories, purported to codify the visual expression of the emotions in painting. David Klöcker Ehrenstrahl, considered father and initiator of Swedish modern painting. was born in Hamburg and educated in Holland (his master was Jurian Jacobsz from Amsterdam, an artist specializing in depicting animals). He moved to Sweden in 1652 invited by the Count (and Field-Marshal) Carl Gustav Wrangel. Fortunate to have made such an important connection, he was soon introduced to the Swedish Royal Court. In particular, the Queen Dowager Hedvid Eleanora personally contributed to his artistic development, sending him first to Rome and Venice, then to London and Paris. Being in contact with the most up-todate pictorial trends at that time, Ehrenstrahl rapidly improved his technique and discovered the typical Baroque style adopted by the great European courts. Soon after his return to Sweden (1661), the young King Charles XI proclaimed Ehrenstrahl as his personal painter and portraitist and he was so enthusiastic of the artist's work that awarded him the title of gentleman and aristocrat (the 'Von', in fact, refers to his new social The journeys to Italy and France allowed Ehrenstrahl to examine the work of two of the most important European artists in the 17th century: Pietro da Cortona (1596-1669) and the Parisian Charles Le Brun (1619-1690). This painting owes several peculiar characteristics to both of them and therefore critics tend to date it after 1661, immediately after Ehrenstrahl's return to Sweden.status). Literature: M. Bryan, Dictionary of Painters and Engravers, MacMillan, New York, 1903; B. Dahlbäck (ed.), David Kloecker von Ehrenstrahl, exhibition catalogue, Nationalmuseum Press, Stockholm, 1976; D. Gerstl, Drucke des höfischen Barock in Schweden, Gebr. Mann, Berlin, 2000; W. Nisser, Die italienischen Skizzenbücher von Erik Jönson Dahlberg und David Klöcker Ehrenstrahl, Uppsala, 1948; A. A. Sjöblom, David Klöcker Ehrenstrahl, exhibition catalogue, Malmö, 1947. | 18000 |
| 11 | Alessandro Magnasco (Genoa, 1667-1749), Francesco Peruzzini (Ancona, 1643-Milan, 1724) A landscape with washerwomen on the edge of a river. Oil on canvas. 147 x 115 cm. - Oval carved and gilt ancient frame. Provenance: Private Collection, Novi Ligure. Just a few hints of light, green and yellow on the rocks, white in the sombre sky overlooking the whole scene, illuminate the painting. Magnasco's fame came through his small, peculiar human figures, suggested by a few, rapid brushstrokes that populate natural settings mainly realized by collegues like, in this case, Peruzzini. The brushwork, mellow and almost in relief, contributes to envolve the observer emotionally and on a tactile level. Alessandro Magnasco, known also as Il Lissandrino, was an apprentice at the workshop of the painter Filippo Abbiati in Milan. There he came into contact with the contemporary Venetian style which he would adopt, characterized by strong contrasts of light and the use of mellow brushwork. Between 1703 and 1709-1710, he settled in Florence where he started to collaborate with Antonio Francesco Peruzzini, a painter specializing in natural scenes. The two artists returned to Milan where together they produced several landscapes filled with small figures and ancient ruins, until the death of Peruzzini in 1724. The peculiar style of Magnasco and the unusual subjects of his works, granted him patronage and commissions until the end of his life. Antonio Francesco Peruzzini reached Rome in 1663, where he painted two stormy seascapes for the musician Giulio Cavalletti and canvas for Charles Emanuel II of Savoy. Until the end of 17th century, he did not stop travelling, often collaborating with colleagues who added human figures to his landscapes. But it was in Florence that he met Alessandro Magnasco, with whom he moved to Milan and worked in association on many religious, mythological and pastoral scenes until the end of his life. Magnasco's fantastic, tiny figures fit into Peruzzini's natural environments. These are enlivened by Rococo hints that suggest the idea of a mythical, suspended time. Literature: E. Camesasca-M. Bona Castellotti, Alessandro Magnasco 1667-1749, catalogue for the exhibition at the Palazzo Reale of Milan, Art Books Intl Ltd., Electa, 1996; V. Magnoni, Alessandro Magnasco, Roma, Edizioni Mediterranee, 1965; M. Pospisil, (editor), Magnasco, Firenze, Alinari, 1944. | 15000 |
| 12 | Paolini, Pietro After the Banquet (Vanitas Humanae Vitae). Oil on canvas. 177 x 133 cm. - Recent black frame. Provenance: Private Collection, Como. This wonderful and enigmatic allegorical painting has been unequivocally attributed by Patrizia Giusti Maccari to the Lucchese painter Pietro Paolini. Its fascinating discovery is linked to its relationship with another known work by the same artist, the Banchetto Musicale (Music Banquet, see the picture below) purchased in 1994 by the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio of Lucca. The two canvases, besides having pretty much the same dimensions (174x133 cm), are obvioulsy two parts of the same narration, sharing characters, accessories and background, as well as the esoteric meaning. The transience of human life, destiny's fickleness and the triviality of pleasures are interwoven in Paolini's painting, creating a tapestry of man's vanity. This painting, working as the final scene of the narrative beginning with the Banchetto Musicale (1650), shows time's pitiless devastation of youth, power and abilities. The regal figure in red has lost his vigour and the crown lies broken, a mocking gesture on the table, while the majestic architecture on the background is in flames. By movements of hands, Paolini directs the observer's eye towards the allegory's key points, whose centre is the boy blowing bubbles, symbolizing men's frailty. Lending a sentence that Giusti Maccari used to define Paolini's tecnique in portraiture, but that can equally be applied to the present painting: «Paolini manages to blend with great ability both realistic and idealistic elements, obtaining surprising results. His portraits are both true to life and idealistic at the same time, mysterious and fascinating in their abstraction, and all are datable between the third and fourth decades of the 17th century». Pietro Paolini, born in Lucca, was sent to train in Rome since he was sixteen in the workshop of the forger Angelo Caroselli, where he could nurture his versatility of style under the influence of the Tuscan and Bologna schools. It was during his years in Rome, as well, that Paolini absorbed the influence of Caravaggio and his followers, and indeed the Caravaggian taste for light effects in this painting would indicate that it post-dates his Roman sojourn. After a period of training in Venice, he went back to Lucca around 1630 and he established an art academy, the Accademia del naturale, attended by, amongst others, the still life painter Simone del Tintore with whom Paolini is thought to have collaborated. His production numbers both sacred and secular paintings, the latter being often very close to the Neostoic movement in vogue at the beginning of the 17th century in Rome. This trend, connected with esotericism and necromancy, attempted to mediate between neo-Platonic idealism and Catholic morality. Literature: P. Giusti Maccari, Pietro Paolini, in «La pittura a Lucca nel primo Seicento», catalogue of the exhibition, Lucca, Pacini-Fazzi, 1994, pp. 225-237; P. Giusti Maccari, Pietro Paolini pittore lucchese 1603-1681, Lucca, 1987; M.T. Filieri (ed.), Viaggio nell'Arte a Lucca. La Collezione della Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Lucca, Lucca, Ragghianti, 2008; R. Wittkower, Art and architecture in Italy 1600-1750, I. Early Baroque (Pelican History of Art), New Heaven and London, Yale University Press, 1999. | 120000 |
| 13 | Gessi, Francesco Saint John the Evangelist. Oil on canvas. 68 x 60 cm. - Contemporary carved and gilt frame. Provenance: Private Collection, Novi Ligure. This painting was traditionally considered a product of Guido Reni's workshop, until Didier Bodart recently suggested the attribution to Francesco Gessi, after direct examination of the painting (estimated _ 50.000, cf. written expertise, September 2011: «Il s'agit d'une oeuvre bolognaise de la première moitié du XVIIème siècle fortement influencée par les modes de Guido Reni et de Guerchin. C'est un oeuvre de grand qualité et en excellent état de conservation de Francesco Gessi»). The Saint is represented as a young man, portrayed half-length: the body is shown in a half-turn to the right, the face, in profile, also turned to the right, the gaze directed upwards in an attitude of prayer and contemplation. He wears a dark robe and a red cape is draped over his shoulders. The left hand holds a chalice from which escapes a small snake, one of his usual attributes in Christian iconography, coming from a legendary text of Pseudo-Isidore de Seville. The Bodart's intuition permitted us to find another Gessi's version of the same subject, currently in the Emo Capodilista Collection at Museo Civico of Padua (see photo below). In Christian art, Saint John is usually represented writing his Gospel, often along with an eagle to symbolize the heights to which he rises in the first chapter of his Gospel. The chalice as symbolic of Saint John, which, according to some authorities, was not adopted until the 13th century, is sometimes interpreted with reference to the Last Supper. Again, this is connected with the legend according to which John was handed a cup of poisoned wine, from which, at his blessing, the poison rose in the shape of a serpent. After the destruction of the Temple of Jerusalem, the emperor Domitian asked for a proof of the power of God and gave John a cup of poisoned wine, which he drank and yet remained alive. Domitian doubted the effectiveness of the poison and gave it to a condemned man who dies instantly, but John revives him before resurrecting a recently deceased servant of the emperor. So Domitian, who had made a decree by the Senate to vote against the Christians but did not want to apply it to John, ordered him to be exiled to the island of Patmos. Here he has the revelation of the end (Apocalypse). Perhaps the most natural explanation is to be found in the words of Christ to John and James: «Ye shall drink indeed of my cup» (Matthew, 20:23). Francesco Gessi was born into a noble family and his father noticed his attraction to the arts. He had him apprenticed to Denys Calvaert but was more successful under the tutelage of Guido Reni, entering his workshop in 1615. From there, he obtained commissions for frescoes in Ravenna, Mantua, and also for the Cappella del Tesoro in Naples. The latter he neglected to complete, perhaps due to the precarious contemporary art scene in Naples. Having returned to Bologna, Gessi began a campaign against his former patron, Reni, becoming a rival and slandering Reni's efforts. He was able to establish a prolific studio in Bologna. His main collaborator from the studio of Reni was Giovanni Giacomo Sementi, and among his pupils were Giovanni Battista and his brother Ercolino Ruggiero, Giacomo Castellini, Francesco Correggio, and Giulio Trogli. Literature: A. Bolognini Amorini, Vite de Pittori ed Artifici Bolognesi. Parte Quinta, Bologna, Tipografia Governativa alla Volpe, 1843, pp. 206-211; F. Arcangeli, Pittura del Seicento Emiliano, Nuova Alfa, 1959; A. Cera, La pittura emiliana del Seicento, Longanesi-Reper, 1982; M. Pirondini, La Scuola di Guido Reni, Banco di Santo Spirito, 1992. | 30000 |
| 14 | Moroni, Giovan Battista Portrait of a gentleman. Oil on canvas. 73 x 58 cm. - 18th century French frame, carved and gilt. Provenance: I. Collezione Pallavicino-Grimaldi, Genoa; sold in Rome at Galleria Sangiorgi, auction of 29 november-2 december 1899, cat. n. 276, illustrated at plate 16 as 'Scuola veneziana'. II. Collection of the British painter Charles Fairfax Murray, London; III. Auction catalogue of Galerie Georges Petit (Paris), 15 june 1914, lot 21, illustrated as 'Moro'. There is a written expertise of Bodart (2004) confirming the attribution to Anthonis Mor. IV. Private collection, Milan. On a grey-green background, the stern young gentleman, portrayed in half-length wearing a dark suit with white ruff, fixes the viewer with a stare. The artist focuses on every detail and shapes a visual narrative, starting with the face's expressive features. The eyes, dark green and intense, animated by white hints; the mouth framed by a tidy beard, made up by a combination of tiny brushstrokes. The ear and the hair above the temple are painted with soft brushwork that blends and blurs colours and contours, thus increasing the sense of depth. The ruff joins the face to the plain yet elegant suit, and its white outline appears painted, carved even, as if it were a piece of cloisonné marquetry. The effect of the ribbons on the jacket sleeve is delicately achieved too, obtained through the application of grey hints picked out by lighter dashes. There have been discordant opinions about the attribution of this painting: due to its high quality and the precise outlining of the details, some critics have connected it to Flemish and northern European painters like Anthonis Mor. In our opinion, however, the picturesque nuances and the sculptural quality of the forms are symptomatic of Italian origins. They bring the work into a Lombard or Venetian context, and they suggest the attribution of Giambattista Moroni, on account of the vivid realism of his subjects and for the distinctive use of colour. Giovan Battista Moroni lived, studied and worked in the North of Italy, travelling within a small, circumscribed area in the provinces of Bergamo, Brescia and Trent. Trained by Alessandro Bonvicino (Il Moretto), he developed a personal style that combined the Venetian school's picturesque use of colour and the Flemish vivid realism in portraits. He went twice to Trent, during the first two sessions of the eponymous council (1546-48 and 1551-53) where he met Titian, and on both occasions he painted both religious works and portraits. Back in Bergamo, he enjoyed considerable success as a portraitist until the 1560s, when Bergamo was convulsed in internecine strife and Moroni, ostracized, decided to go back to Albino, the small village where his family lived. There, in provincial isolation, he further developed his style, portraying scholars, professionals and bureaucrats. These subjects were very far from the usual poses of heroic aristocrats; rather, they are full of humanity, represented with the instruments of their work, like the Tailor in the National Gallery, London. In 1575, cardinal Carlo Borromeo went to Bergamo on visit and praised Moroni for his talent. The esteem of one of the most important propagandists of the Counter-Reformation brought his works back to the fore, and granted him commissions and the respect of his contemporaries for the last three years of his life. Literature: G. C. Argan, Storia dell'arte italiana, Firenze, Sansoni, 1968; S. Facchinetti, Giovan Battista Moroni: lo sguardo sulla realtà, 1560-1579, Cinisello Balsamo, Silvana Editoriale, 2004; S. J. Freedberg, Painting in Italy 1500-1600, Yale University Press, 1993, pp. 591-95; M. Gregori, Giovan Battista Moroni (1520 - 1578), Catalogo della Mostra, Bergamo, Azienda Autonoma di Turismo, 1979; M. Gregori, Pittura a Bergamo dal Romanico al Neoclassicismo, Milano, Cariplo, 1991; R. Wittkower, Art and Architecture Italy, 1600-1750, in «Pelican History of Art», London, Penguin Books, 1980 (1993), pp. 591-595. | 70000 |
| 15 | Sellaer, Vincent Leda and the Swan. Oil on panel, 76,8 x 108,2 cm. - Ancient carved and gilt frame. Provenance: I. Sotheby's London, Old Master Pictures, sale 6944, lot 18. II. Private collection. In this wonderful panel, Leda is represented in a moment of domestic rest, while speaking lied down on soft pillows with the swan caressing her hair and almost using its wing as a cushion for her. Castor and Pollux, born from Leda's union with Jupiter in form of a swan, are resting on their mother's lying body: from the same intercourse, getting out of an egg like the Dioscuri, also Helen of Troy and Clytemnestra were born. This painting on panel can be compared with another by Sellaer with the same subject, recently sold at public auction (Sotheby's, New York, 22 January, 2004, lot 58, fetching $116,500). In respect of its childlike figures, it is also comparable to Sellaer's Jupiter, Satyr, Antiope and their Children in the Musées royaux des Beaux-Arts de Belgique, Bruxelles. The iconography comes from Leonardo's famous lost composition which influenced and inspired many Dutch artists of the time, including Joos and Cornelis van Cleve, both of them painting numerous versions of the same subject. The influence of Leonardo's is clearly recognizable in the faces and the hair of the children. Vincent Sellaer (now convincingly identified as Vincent Geldersman) was, with Michiel Coxcie, the leading artist in Malines (now Mechelen), a city that had become the cultural centre of the Netherlands during the reign of Margaret of Austria. He painted several different versions of Leda and the Swan, as well as a Susannah and the Elders, a Cleopatra and a Descent from the Cross for the cathedral of his own city. Sellaer would have absorbed this stylistic innovation during his sojourn in Italian (1522-24), during which he probably worked with Moretto of Brescia (Alessandro Bonvicino). Sellaer's style is characterized by an ability to combine seamlessly Northern European and Italian sources and create paintings notable for their power and monumental quality. Literature: M. Díaz Padrón, Nuevas Pinturas de Vicente Sellaer identificadas en el Museo de Bellas Artes de Sevilla y colecciones madrileñas, in «Archivo español de Arte», 54, Madrid, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas, 1981, pp. 364-369; G.J. Hoogewerff, Vincent Sellaer. Een bijdrage tot de kennis van zijn kunst, in «Miscellany for Prof. D. Roggen», Antwerp, De Sikkel editions, 1957, pp. 137-148; H-P. Mielke, Zu Vincent Sellaer, in «Festschrift to Erik Fischer. European Drawings from Six Centuries», Copenhague, RoyalMuseum of Fine Arts, 1990, pp. 257-262; M. Pilkington, A general dictionaty of painters, containing memoires of the lives and works of the most emiment Professors of the Art of Painting, from its revival, by Cimabue, in the year 1250, to the present time, vol. I, London, T. McLean, 1824, p. 368. | 80000 |
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