Central Italian Artist, Sorrowful Madonna and Saint John the Apostle, Early 17th Century, Oil on Panels, Set of 2

Details

Description

Pair of rare and precious panels with the Sorrowful Madonna and Saint John the Apostle, central Italy, early 17th century. … Read more Pair of rare and precious panels with the Sorrowful Madonna and Saint John the Apostle, central Italy, early 17th century. These panels are executed in oil on fir wood and depict a "Sorrowful Madonna" and "Saint John the Apostle," figures of touching emotional intensity. Such silhouettes were originally placed at the foot of the crucifix, so as to complete the scene of the crucifixion. This compositional arrangement was widely used in the devotional furnishings of apse basins or chapels during the Renaissance until it reached the 17th century. Their dimensions are approximately 150 cm in height x 50 cm in maximum width, with a thickness of approximately 3.5 cm. The pictorial sphere of these panels could more specifically concern painters engaged in devotional decoration commissioned by the church in the territories of the Umbrian-Marche Apennines or Tuscany. Some stylistic consonances in comparison with these works could be advanced with the painting of a painter not so well known, but of a discreet sensitivity. Venanzio l'Eremita, a monk painter who was often engaged in this type of commission and who worked in close contact with Antiveduto Grammatica in the monastic construction site of Camaldoli. The colors are vivid and the strokes soft but well descriptive, the anatomical masses of the faces are defined with the tones of the complexions and reproduced through amazing foreshortenings. The strong emotionality of the figures is well translated and described effectively. We have the last part of the base of Saint John which must be readmitted in the restoration. The sale will be accompanied by a guarantee of authenticity provided by our antique gallery. See less