Fig. 1 Federico Barocci, The Visitation, Santa Maria in Vallicella, Chiesa Nuova, Rome, De Agostini Picture Library / G. Nimatallah / Bridgeman Images

This head study of Saint Joseph by Federico Barocci—among the most versatile, prolific, and sought-after artists of the late sixteenth century— teems with grace and vivacity. It forms part of a large group of preparatory works that he made for his famed Visitation altarpiece in the Oratorian Church of Santa Maria in Vallicella (Chiesa Nuova) in Rome, painted at the height of his career in circa 1583-1586 to widespread acclaim (fig. 1).[1] Freely rendered in oil over chalk, with passages of impasto still visible in the highlights and some flesh tones, this study anticipates the beautiful figure of Saint Joseph in the lower left foreground of Barocci’s final composition. Like his oil study for the head of Saint Elizabeth in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York (fig. 2),[2] also made for the Visitation, the present work illustrates a refined moment late in the artist's creative process, as he moved to perfect the tonal harmonies of the key figures in his final masterpiece. Such works provide incredible insight into Barocci’s elaborate working method and his relentless, almost obsessive, pursuit of perfection.

Fig. 2 Federico Barocci, Head of An Old Woman Looking Right (Saint Elizabeth), The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, inv. no. 1976.87.2.

Barocci’s final Visitation altarpiece garnered much attention. Its large scale, vibrant colors, dynamic composition, and emotive qualities evoked awe among audiences soon after its completion. Long queues formed outside the church to witness its splendor firsthand, and one of its most ardent admirers was Saint Philip Neri, regularly found in front of the altarpiece in extended periods of spiritual contemplation. Barocci’s visual achievements in this altarpiece are the result of his extraordinary efforts made in preparation, recorded in over forty-five preliminary studies. These works varied in technique and media, from pastel, to chalk, to oils, the latter of which was a medium largely reserved for passages within his most important compositions.

Of this large group of preparatory studies for the Visitation, about ten are linked to the figure of Saint Joseph alone. In addition to the present study on paper, described by Dr. Edmund Pillsbury as “one of the two or three most beautiful and important surviving examples of Barocci’s head studies in oil,”[3] others in this group include a black chalk figure study of Joseph in the Uffizi, Florence[4] as well as a more rapidly executed oil head study on paper in a private collection that is of slightly larger dimensions[5]. Only on rare occasions did Barocci paint two oil studies for the head of the same figure, and Babette Bohn has recently explored two possible reasons for why this may have been so. First, such repetitions are consistent with the artist’s practice, as we find duplications of other figures in studies in other media. Secondly, it is possible that in doing this Barocci had the market in mind. Perhaps these more finished oil studies would later serve more than a preparatory purpose, likely appealing as independent works of art to many collectors of the period who rarely had the opportunity to acquire finished paintings from the highly coveted artist.[6]

[1] Barocci accepted the commission for this altarpiece on 19 June 1583. Letters between May - July 1586 suggest the final painting’s transport to Rome.
[2] Inv. no. 1976.82.2. Brush and oil on paper, 39.1 by 27.5 cm.
[3] Written correspondence, 3 August 2004.
[4] Gabinetto Disegni e Stampe degli Uffizi, Florence, inv. No. 11622 F. See Mann and Bohn 2012, p. 207, reproduced fig. 10.9.
[5] Black, red, peach and white oil on paper, laid on canvas, 39.5 by 31.3 cm. Private collection. See Mann and Bohn 2012, p. 209, cat. 10.11, reproduced.
[6] Mann and Bohn 2012, p. 209.