Italian school of the second half of the eighteenth century. Follower of CARLO MARATTA (Camerano, 1625- Rome, 1713). "Madonna". Oil on canvas.

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Jul 14, 2021

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• Lot Description
  Italian school of the second half of the eighteenth century. Follower of CARLO MARATTA (Camerano, 1625- Rome, 1713). "Madonna". Oil on canvas. Size: 73 x 59 cm; 93 x 79 cm (frame). Devotional work that presents us the Virgin Mary bust, in the foreground and captured at large size, occupying most of the pictorial surface. It is a monumental figure, worked with great delicacy and directly illuminated by a clear and uniform light, with classical roots. Mary stands out against a neutral, flat and dark background, illuminated around her head by the halo of golden light. The Virgin appears dressed in a red tunic, alluding to the Passion of Christ and her own pain for the death of her Son, and a blue mantle, usual in Marian iconography as a symbol of the concepts of truth and eternity. The figure shows a dynamic position, elegantly twisted, with her face tilted to one side and turned downwards, towards the faithful praying at her feet, showing herself as an intercessor between God and man. As a symbol of compassion and humility, Mary holds a hand to her breast. It is an image of great beauty, in which an idealized but naturalistic face stands out, with large and expressive deep-set eyes, drooping eyelids, a long and elegant nose and a small mouth, puckered in a smile. From the treatment of the Virgin's clothing and drapery, the present canvas may have been executed by a follower of Carlo Maratta, an Italian painter of the "high baroque" period, who worked mainly in Rome. Carlo Maratta, also known as Carlo Moratti, was born in Camerano, then part of the Papal States of Rome, a city to which he traveled in 1636, apparently with Taddeo Barberini's secretary, and became an apprentice in Andrea Sacchi's workshop. At this time his style was close to Sacchi's classicism, more measured and harmonious than Cortona's baroque style and influenced by Carracci, Guercino, Guido Reni, etc. He carried out numerous commissions for Pope Alexander VII (reign 1655-1667) and, from around 1660, his "portfolio of clients" spread throughout Europe and belonging to the upper class, which led to the establishment of the main workshop in Rome after Bernini's death in 1680, when he became the most important artist in the city. In 1664 he became director of the Accademia di San Luca in Rome, further promoting the study of classical antiquity. He produced works that are preserved in Palazzo Altieri, Palazzo Pitti in Florence, in Santa Maria in Vallicella, in the Cybo Chapel of Santa Maria del Popolo, etc. It should also be noted that, in addition to his frequent religious themes, he was highly appreciated as a portraitist, and also for his works on mythological subjects. From the beginning of the 18th century, due to the economic situation, he would dedicate himself above all to the "pictorial restoration" of works by Raffaello Sanzio, Carracci, etc. Works by the master are kept in important private collections all over the world, as well as in institutions such as the Prado Museum in Madrid, the National Gallery in London, the Hermitage in St. Petersburg, the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum in Madrid, the Getty Museum, the Royal Museums of Fine Arts in Belgium, etc.
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