Giovanni Battista Salvi, called il Sassoferrato

(Sassoferrato 1609–1685 Rome)
Madonna,
oil on canvas, 39 x 33 cm, framed
Provenance:
Private European collection;
where acquired by the present owner in 2022

We are grateful to Massimo Pulini for endorsing the attribution of the present painting on the basis of a photograph.

The present composition is known through other autograph replicas by Sassoferrato, produced by the artist in different formats and sizes, for example, an almost identical version (oil on canvas, 43 x 34 cm) was offered at Dorotheum, 9 April 2014 as lot 549 (sold for €67,400). In the present work, the Madonna´s hands are not visible, although she is clearly in prayer.

Giovanni Battista Salvi, called il Sassoferato moved from his home of Tarquinio after an initial training with his father to Rome, where he studied the works of his contemporaries such as Guido Reni, il Domenichino or the Carracci, as well as his greatest source of inspiration, the works of Raphael. It is documented that he used to make copies directly from Raphael’s compositions, such as the Madonna and Child in the Galleria Sabauda, Turin (inv. no. 482), which refers directly to Raphael’s Madonna of the Pinks in the National Gallery, London (inv. no. NG6596).

Although he was a talented portraitist, Sassoferato specialised in devotional paintings, such as the present work, that mostly depicted the Madonna as an isolated figure, or with the Christ Child, which enjoyed great popularity during his lifetime.