44
Giovanni Lanfranco (Parma, 1582 - Roma, 1647)
Coronation of the Virgin with Saint Charles Borromeo and a holy bishop, 1615-1616 approx.
Oil on canvas
cm. 197x129
The altarpiece was purchased by the current owner from the Marquis Piero Corsini in Sismano (Todi). It was most likely placed on the altar of the small chapel in the Corsini palace. At the time of the change of ownership, in 1977, it was considered to be a work by Maratta. It was recognized as a work by Lanfranco and published as such by Brogi. The fiefdom of Sismano was incorporated into the patrimony of the noble Florentine family in 1609 by Bartolomeo Corsini (1545-1613), together with Civitella and Casigliano. In 1929 "Urban VIII raised the Corsini fiefdoms to a marquisate [...] to demonstrate the favor he had for Filippo Corsini" (1578-1636). Perhaps it was the latter, son (?) of Bartolomeo, who commissioned the painting by Lanfranco. Filippo resided mainly in Rome.
As Brogi noted, the group with Christ and the Virgin, especially the figure of the Virgin, is very similar to that of the Lanfranco altarpiece, now in the Louvre, the first version, discarded or rejected, of the altarpiece in the Bongiovanni Chapel in Rome (1616) and is generally inspired by the analogous group in Correggio's fresco, formerly in the apse of San Giovanni Evangelista in Parma, respectively in the Aretusi copy, still there. This dependence is particularly true for the figure of Christ in the present altarpiece. The figures of the Virgin in Lanfranco's two altarpieces are very similar, especially in the pose of the crossed hands and arms. In the Louvre altarpiece, the Virgin looks out of the corner of her eye, like the one in Correggio's fresco, while here she looks downwards. Her legs are crossed, hidden by large draperies, in an unnatural attitude, similar to the Virgin in the altarpiece with Saints Charles and Bartholomew, formerly in San Lorenzo in Piacenza (1616-1617). The way of modelling the folds of the drapery recalls that of the Louvre altarpiece, as well as that of the Madonna and Saints in the Boselli chapel formerly in San Francesco in Piacenza (1615-1616).
The beautiful full-length figure of Saint Charles commending the viewer to Christ is practically identical to the three-quarter figure of Saint Charles in the painting in the Colonna Gallery, previously attributed to Borgianni and returned to Lanfranco del Longhi (1943), datable to around 1616. There the figure appears harsher and more ascetic in its modelling and facial expression. The face of Saint Charles in this painting is softer, wrapped in a chiaroscuro atmosphere of shadows that recalls Borgianni. Only a direct comparison in the exhibition will allow a correct evaluation of the relationship between the two works. The repentance of the white collar, under which the edge of the mozzetta appears, suggests that the Colonna painting is earlier.
Very similar, but firmer in the modelling, appears the Saint Charles in the Leonessa altarpiece, which belongs to the same stylistic phase (Borgiannensque) although slightly more developed and refined (ca. 1616-1617).
The modelling of the Virgin's face recalls that of the female figures in the left lateral painting in the Bongiovanni chapel (1616), but also - if such a comparison is permissible - the face of Rinaldo and of the female figure on the ship in the painting of Rinaldo's Farewell to Armida (fd 1614, Bologna, private collection).
Overall, it can be said with some certainty that the altarpiece belongs to the "Borgiannesca" phase (1614-1618) and can be dated around 1615-1616, and not to the 1620s, as Brogi proposed.
The figure of God the Father blessing is compositionally and qualitatively unsatisfactory. This is most likely due to the fact that this figure was inserted later, when the group with Christ and the Virgin had already been painted. The patron probably did not agree that the Coronation should be represented only with the figures of Christ and the Virgin. Similarly, in the first version of the altarpiece for the Bongiovanni chapel, the lack of God the Father in the painting resulted in the rejection of the altarpiece.
Brogi's proposal that the holy bishop is probably to be identified with Andrea Corsini (Florence, 1302-1373, Carmelite friar and bishop of Fiesole), who was canonized only in 1629, remains to be verified. The known examples are from the seventeenth century (Gudo Reni, Foggini, cfr. Bibliotheca Sanctorum, I, Rome 1961, pp. 1168-1169; Réau, III, 1, Paris 1958, pp. 85-86) and his cult was concentrated above all in Tuscany. The posture of the holy bishop recalls that of Saint Augustine in the Leonessa altarpiece (ca. 1616-1617 and not from 1613, as Brogi believed) and the Louvre (1616).
A certain breadth in the rendering of the folds of Christ's ivory-white drapery vaguely recalls the manner of painting in Rinaldo's Farewell to Armida, a painting sold at Sotheby's, Milan, in June 1998, as Badalocchio (in truth a variant of Lanfranco's painting signed and dated 1614, Bologna, private collection, which in our opinion is not autograph). But the qualitative gap between the two paintings is too great to justify suspicions about the autograph of the work in question.
(Information sheet taken from the Exhibition Catalogue "Giovanni Lanfranco. A Baroque Painter between Parma, Rome and Naples")
Restored in 1977 by Giovanni Mancini, Perugia.
Provenance: Palazzo Corsini, Sismano (Todi).
Exhibitions: 2001-2002, Giovanni Lanfranco. A Baroque Painter between Parma, Rome and Naples, 8 September - 2 December, Reggia di Colorno (Parma); 21 December - 24 February, Castel Sant'Elmo, Naples; 16 March - 16 June, Palazzo Venezia, Rome.
Bibliography: 1990, A new Lanfranco, A. Brogi, in "Paragone", 483, pp. 120-121; 2001, Giovanni Lanfranco. A Baroque painter between Parma, Rome and Naples, Edizioni Electa Milano, pp. 160-161.
As Brogi noted, the group with Christ and the Virgin, especially the figure of the Virgin, is very similar to that of the Lanfranco altarpiece, now in the Louvre, the first version, discarded or rejected, of the altarpiece in the Bongiovanni Chapel in Rome (1616) and is generally inspired by the analogous group in Correggio's fresco, formerly in the apse of San Giovanni Evangelista in Parma, respectively in the Aretusi copy, still there. This dependence is particularly true for the figure of Christ in the present altarpiece. The figures of the Virgin in Lanfranco's two altarpieces are very similar, especially in the pose of the crossed hands and arms. In the Louvre altarpiece, the Virgin looks out of the corner of her eye, like the one in Correggio's fresco, while here she looks downwards. Her legs are crossed, hidden by large draperies, in an unnatural attitude, similar to the Virgin in the altarpiece with Saints Charles and Bartholomew, formerly in San Lorenzo in Piacenza (1616-1617). The way of modelling the folds of the drapery recalls that of the Louvre altarpiece, as well as that of the Madonna and Saints in the Boselli chapel formerly in San Francesco in Piacenza (1615-1616).
The beautiful full-length figure of Saint Charles commending the viewer to Christ is practically identical to the three-quarter figure of Saint Charles in the painting in the Colonna Gallery, previously attributed to Borgianni and returned to Lanfranco del Longhi (1943), datable to around 1616. There the figure appears harsher and more ascetic in its modelling and facial expression. The face of Saint Charles in this painting is softer, wrapped in a chiaroscuro atmosphere of shadows that recalls Borgianni. Only a direct comparison in the exhibition will allow a correct evaluation of the relationship between the two works. The repentance of the white collar, under which the edge of the mozzetta appears, suggests that the Colonna painting is earlier.
Very similar, but firmer in the modelling, appears the Saint Charles in the Leonessa altarpiece, which belongs to the same stylistic phase (Borgiannensque) although slightly more developed and refined (ca. 1616-1617).
The modelling of the Virgin's face recalls that of the female figures in the left lateral painting in the Bongiovanni chapel (1616), but also - if such a comparison is permissible - the face of Rinaldo and of the female figure on the ship in the painting of Rinaldo's Farewell to Armida (fd 1614, Bologna, private collection).
Overall, it can be said with some certainty that the altarpiece belongs to the "Borgiannesca" phase (1614-1618) and can be dated around 1615-1616, and not to the 1620s, as Brogi proposed.
The figure of God the Father blessing is compositionally and qualitatively unsatisfactory. This is most likely due to the fact that this figure was inserted later, when the group with Christ and the Virgin had already been painted. The patron probably did not agree that the Coronation should be represented only with the figures of Christ and the Virgin. Similarly, in the first version of the altarpiece for the Bongiovanni chapel, the lack of God the Father in the painting resulted in the rejection of the altarpiece.
Brogi's proposal that the holy bishop is probably to be identified with Andrea Corsini (Florence, 1302-1373, Carmelite friar and bishop of Fiesole), who was canonized only in 1629, remains to be verified. The known examples are from the seventeenth century (Gudo Reni, Foggini, cfr. Bibliotheca Sanctorum, I, Rome 1961, pp. 1168-1169; Réau, III, 1, Paris 1958, pp. 85-86) and his cult was concentrated above all in Tuscany. The posture of the holy bishop recalls that of Saint Augustine in the Leonessa altarpiece (ca. 1616-1617 and not from 1613, as Brogi believed) and the Louvre (1616).
A certain breadth in the rendering of the folds of Christ's ivory-white drapery vaguely recalls the manner of painting in Rinaldo's Farewell to Armida, a painting sold at Sotheby's, Milan, in June 1998, as Badalocchio (in truth a variant of Lanfranco's painting signed and dated 1614, Bologna, private collection, which in our opinion is not autograph). But the qualitative gap between the two paintings is too great to justify suspicions about the autograph of the work in question.
(Information sheet taken from the Exhibition Catalogue "Giovanni Lanfranco. A Baroque Painter between Parma, Rome and Naples")
Restored in 1977 by Giovanni Mancini, Perugia.
Provenance: Palazzo Corsini, Sismano (Todi).
Exhibitions: 2001-2002, Giovanni Lanfranco. A Baroque Painter between Parma, Rome and Naples, 8 September - 2 December, Reggia di Colorno (Parma); 21 December - 24 February, Castel Sant'Elmo, Naples; 16 March - 16 June, Palazzo Venezia, Rome.
Bibliography: 1990, A new Lanfranco, A. Brogi, in "Paragone", 483, pp. 120-121; 2001, Giovanni Lanfranco. A Baroque painter between Parma, Rome and Naples, Edizioni Electa Milano, pp. 160-161.