Unknown

Titian workshop (Venice school) - 17th century figure painting - Mary Magdalene

c.1670

Giovanni Camillo Sagrestani (Florence 1660 - Florence 1731) circle of - San Girolamo. 96 x 72 cm unframed, 112 x 88 cm with frame. Antique oil painting on canvas, in a carved and g...

Neapolitan Master (17th-18th century) - Sketch for the Martyrdom of Saint Agatha. 32 x 23.5 cm unframed, 42 x 32 cm including wooden support. Oil on canvas, unframed (not signed). ...

Pier Francesco Cittadini (Milan 1616 - Bologna 1681) attributed - Portrait of a Lady. 80 x 61 cm unframed, 91 x 70 cm with frame. Oil on canvas, in a gilded wooden frame (not signe...

Umbrian painter (16th century) - Madonna and Child in a Landscape (Madonna Conestabile). 19 x 18 cm unframed, 34 x 33 cm with frame. Oil on canvas mounted on panel, in a gilded woo...

This stunning Italian Baroque Old Master portrait oil painting is attributed to the circle of Guercino, Giovanni Francesco Barbieri (1591 - 1666) and it is ascribed verso. The paint...

Beautiful original frame in carved, sculpted and gilded wood. Oral expertise by Prof. Massimo Pulini.

Mary Magdalene in the Desert Giovanni Francesco Barbieri, Il Guercino (Cento, 1591 - Bologna, 1666) Workshop of Oil on canvas 122 x 78 cm In frame 136 x 92 cm The painting presents us with a superb image of the penitent Magdalene, portrayed as an attractive young woman, mischievously undressed to remind us of her sinful past, her gaze full of devotion turned towards the angel messenger arriving from above. The composition is made even more fascinating by her long, loose hair that falls softly over her body, revealing her breasts, a further reference to the strong femininity of this saint, who is both a sinner and a penitent, and therefore perpetually portrayed in the ambivalence between the sacred and the profane. Stylistically, the work, which can be dated to the first half of the 17th century, clearly belongs to the Emilian school, and the Guercinesque characteristics undoubtedly suggest that it was executed by an artist from his workshop. The iconography of the painting reinterprets a work by Guercino, “The Vision of Saint Jerome”, painted in 1641 for the Confraternity of Saint Jerome in Rimini: the two works are similar in their setting, the composition of the scene, the treatment of the bodies of the protagonists and even in the pose and colours and the inclusion of the angel in the upper part of the painting. Returning to our beautiful Magdalene, although Guercino's original work cannot be traced, there are other versions by his talented pupils and workshop, including that by Cesare Gennari (Cento, 1637 - Bologna, 1688), now in the Pinacoteca Civica in Cento (FE), considered one of the best talents to emerge from the prestigious teaching of the master. Gennari Cesare - Penitent Magdalene oil on canvas, 276x 171 cm, 1662, no. 0342 Civica Pinacoteca Il Guercino, Cento (FE). Although it is difficult to attribute our high-quality canvas to a specific artist, we can trace its authorship to the workshop of the great master, hypothesising that it was painted either by Cesare Gennari himself or by an artist close to his style, such as Giuseppe Maria Ficatelli, from whom the particular sense of light and vigorous naturalism derives. Our painter follows the robust and synthetic naturalism typical of Cesare's style: the touch is refined but full of character in the depiction of Mary Magdalene, with her sensual flesh, particularly her breasts, which are barely concealed by her long, curly, golden hair. The woman embodies a three-dimensional strength that makes her the focal point of the painting, around which everything else is coordinated, thanks in part to her diagonal pose, which emphasises her depth. She kneels on a rock altar, on which there is a crucifix and an open book, as well as a skull at her feet, as a warning against Vanitas. In this dark setting, with colours that are deep and functional to the message of faith that Mary Magdalene conveys, the only source of light illuminating the scene is the angel at the top of the painting, pointing to the true source of that glow, which stands out against the magnificent lapis lazuli blue of the sky. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Good condition, with some restoration work consistent with the age of the painting, complete with gilded frame...

Pietro Bardellino (Naples, Italy, 1731 – 1806) Title: Mary Magdalene Medium: Oil on canvas Dimensions: without frame 75 x 60 cm – with frame 97 x 82 cm Antique shaped and carved wood...