Northern Italian School, The Visitation, Oil on Canvas

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Oil on canvas. Northern Italian School, late 17th-early 18th century. This large-scale painting depicts the evangelical moment of the encounter … Read more Oil on canvas. Northern Italian School, late 17th-early 18th century. This large-scale painting depicts the evangelical moment of the encounter between Mary, awaiting the birth of Jesus, and her cousin Elizabeth, pregnant with John, the future Baptist. The emotion of this encounter, which sees the two women embrace while, as Elizabeth says, baby John leaps in her womb, later gives rise to the splendid prayer of the Magnificat, proclaimed by Mary in thanksgiving and praise of her Lord, "who has looked upon the lowliness of his servant." Unusual is the presence in this painting of the two husbands, Joseph on the left and Zechariah on the right, who are not mentioned in the Gospel and are usually not depicted. All the figures are depicted according to traditional iconographic canons. and stand out against a background featuring the temple behind Zechariah, the priest, and a distant Italian landscape on the left. On the back of the canvas is an old attribution of the work to Giacomo Barbelli. The painting is completely missing color along all edges; it has been restored in the past and firmly relined. It is presented in a period frame. This piece is attributed to the mentioned designer/maker. It has no attribution mark and no
official proof of authenticity,
however it is well documented in design history. I take full responsibility for any authenticity



issues arising from misattribution See less