Felice Ficherelli, called il Riposo
(San Gimignano 1605–1660 Florence)
The Adoration of the Magi,
oil on canvas, 130 x 110 cm, framed
Provenance:
Aristocratic collection, Florence;
sale, Dorotheum, Vienna, 25 April 2017, lot 60;
where acquired by the present owner
Literature:
S. Benassai, Il collezionismo dei Bardi: nuove acquisizioni per Felice Ficherelli, in: Paragone 43, 2002, pp. 41–42, pl. 29 (as Felice Ficherelli);
S. Benassai, Su Felice Ficherelli juvenilia e altre novità, in: Paragone, 77, 2008, pp. 52–66, pl. 45 (as Felice Ficherelli);
F. Baldassari, La Pittura del Seicento a Firenze. Indice degli artisti e delle loro opere, Torino 2009, p. 361 (mentioned under ‘Florence, private collections’)
We are grateful to Francesca Baldassari for confirming the attribution of the present painting after examination in the original and for her help in cataloguing this lot.
The depiction of the Adoration of the Magi takes place in a simple and tranquil setting. The magnificence of the gifts offered to the Christ Child is emphised by the richness of the colours used: the yellow garment of the kneeling king, the ultramarine blue of Mary’s dress and the hose of the young king standing on the far right side, wrapped in a precious purple cape which recals the works of Jacopo da Empoli and Cristofano Allori. The depiction of the Madonna’s profile makes a clear reference to the works of Andrea del Sarto, while the bearded face of the king in the foreground can be compared with works by Jacopo Vignali and his pupil Carlo Dolci. The young man standing near Joseph can be regarded as a signature figure by Felice Ficherelli.
The present painting was most probably destined for an important patron, and this is also indicated by the impressive frame which appears to date from the same period. A comparison can be made between the profiles and folded drapery in Ficherelli’s early work and those in Tobias restoring his father’s sight (privately collection), a painting chosen to represent the artist at the great exhibition dedicated to seventeenth-century Florence and held in Palazzo Strozzi in Florence in 1986–1987.
The biographer, Filippo Baldinucci, recorded that Ficherelli left his native San Gimignano in the 1620s for Florence under the protection of the art collector and music enthusiast Alberto de’ Bardi from Vernio. Alberto de’ Bardi welcomed him to his palace in the Oltrarno area of the city and entrusted him to Jacopo da Empoli, an artist who ran one of the most successful workshops in the capital of the Grand Duchy. This apprenticeship was decisive and left lasting traces in the style of Ficherelli, as is apparent in the present Adoration. The artist was known by the name of ‘Riposo’ (Restful) because of his easy-going and peaceful nature. The present painting was probably executed between the late 1620s and the early 1630s, before Ficherelli approached the more sensual pictorial language derived from Francesco Furini.
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(San Gimignano 1605–1660 Florence)
The Adoration of the Magi,
oil on canvas, 130 x 110 cm, framed
Provenance:
Aristocratic collection, Florence;
sale, Dorotheum, Vienna, 25 April 2017, lot 60;
where acquired by the present owner
Literature:
S. Benassai, Il collezionismo dei Bardi: nuove acquisizioni per Felice Ficherelli, in: Paragone 43, 2002, pp. 41–42, pl. 29 (as Felice Ficherelli);
S. Benassai, Su Felice Ficherelli juvenilia e altre novità, in: Paragone, 77, 2008, pp. 52–66, pl. 45 (as Felice Ficherelli);
F. Baldassari, La Pittura del Seicento a Firenze. Indice degli artisti e delle loro opere, Torino 2009, p. 361 (mentioned under ‘Florence, private collections’)
We are grateful to Francesca Baldassari for confirming the attribution of the present painting after examination in the original and for her help in cataloguing this lot.
The depiction of the Adoration of the Magi takes place in a simple and tranquil setting. The magnificence of the gifts offered to the Christ Child is emphised by the richness of the colours used: the yellow garment of the kneeling king, the ultramarine blue of Mary’s dress and the hose of the young king standing on the far right side, wrapped in a precious purple cape which recals the works of Jacopo da Empoli and Cristofano Allori. The depiction of the Madonna’s profile makes a clear reference to the works of Andrea del Sarto, while the bearded face of the king in the foreground can be compared with works by Jacopo Vignali and his pupil Carlo Dolci. The young man standing near Joseph can be regarded as a signature figure by Felice Ficherelli.
The present painting was most probably destined for an important patron, and this is also indicated by the impressive frame which appears to date from the same period. A comparison can be made between the profiles and folded drapery in Ficherelli’s early work and those in Tobias restoring his father’s sight (privately collection), a painting chosen to represent the artist at the great exhibition dedicated to seventeenth-century Florence and held in Palazzo Strozzi in Florence in 1986–1987.
The biographer, Filippo Baldinucci, recorded that Ficherelli left his native San Gimignano in the 1620s for Florence under the protection of the art collector and music enthusiast Alberto de’ Bardi from Vernio. Alberto de’ Bardi welcomed him to his palace in the Oltrarno area of the city and entrusted him to Jacopo da Empoli, an artist who ran one of the most successful workshops in the capital of the Grand Duchy. This apprenticeship was decisive and left lasting traces in the style of Ficherelli, as is apparent in the present Adoration. The artist was known by the name of ‘Riposo’ (Restful) because of his easy-going and peaceful nature. The present painting was probably executed between the late 1620s and the early 1630s, before Ficherelli approached the more sensual pictorial language derived from Francesco Furini.
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