Lodovico Cardi, called Cigoli

This painting of the Annunciation relates closely to Cigoli's altarpiece of the same subject in the Chiesa dei SS. Francesco e Chiara, annexed to the Convento dei Cappuccini di Montughi, in Florence.¹  Given its smaller dimensions- it originally measured 94 by 71 cm. compared to the altarpiece's 296 by 186 cm.- and numerous minor differences, it seems likely that it constitutes a modello for the Florentine altarpiece or a second version for a private patron, rather than a ricordo. Although the two paintings share a similar compositional structure, there are notable differences: the Madonna and Angel Annunciate are in the same position but whereas the Angel carries a lily here (a symbol normally associated with the Annunciation), in the Florentine version he presents a crown to the kneeling Madonna (alluding to her identification as 'Regina Coeli' or Queen of Heaven). The setting is also different: there is no bed or baldacchino behind the Madonna and the patterned floor is bare, decorated with a simple geometric design that recedes far into a darkened background, whilst in the Florentine Annunciation, a bouquet of flowers sits in the lower right foreground, on top of a differently patterned floor that recedes to an open doorway and balcony. Another striking difference is Cigoli's rendering of the otherworldly figures entering the composition from above: here, a dove is only slightly hinted at between the group of cherubs who view the scene from above, whereas in the Florentine altarpiece Cigoli has given the dove greater emphasis, as if to underline its presence as a symbol of the Holy Spirit. The altarpiece has been imbued with greater religious symbolism - the obvious presence of the Holy Spirit and the allusion to the Madonna's role as Queen of Heaven - and it seems likely that this was requested by the Capuchins who commissioned the work, perhaps in response to the modello's more 'traditional' representation of the Annunciation.²  Indeed this theory seems to confirm Faranda's own reading of the altarpiece's symbolism; namely that the altarpiece's imagery takes on a liturgical function, further underlined by the Madonna's open book, written in legible Hebrew and opened emphatically at the Book of Genesis46.26, thus drawing a clear parallel between the Old and New Testaments.

For stylistic reasons the altarpiece has been dated by both Contini and Faranda to circa 1600, and a similar date of execution seems plausible for the present work. The figure of the Madonna recurs in another painting of the Annunciation by Cigoli, more traditional in its representation and probably painted slightly earlier, in the Molinari Pradelli collection, Bologna.³  Both these figures ultimately derive from Cigoli's sketch of a female nude in the Uffizi, which in turn draws its inspiration from the Medici Venus; one of the most-copied sculptures of antiquity (today also in the Uffizi).⁴

We are grateful to Francesca Baldassari for endorsing the attribution to Cigoli and suggesting a date of execution circa 1595, on the basis of photographs.

1. 296 by 186 cm.; see R. Contini, Il Cigoli, Soncino 1991, pp. 64-65, cat. no. 13, reproduced in colour. Contini notes that in his monograph of 1986 Franco Faranda erroneously reproduced a copy after the altarpiece instead of the original (see Faranda, Ludovico Cardi detto il Cigoli, Rome 1986, p. 145, cat. no. 47).
2. In his account Baldinucci insists that Cigoli painted this altarpiece out of charity ('per carità').
3. Oil on panel, 98.5 by 74 cm.; see Faranda, op. cit., p. 141, cat. no. 37, reproduced.
4. Inv. no. 8980F r.; see Faranda, ibid., cat. no. 37a, reproduced. The drawing is inscribed in an old hand "'del Cigoli' la Nuntiata del Cigoli à Cappuccini", thus noting a clear link with the present composition. The Medici Venus is a Hellenistic sculpture of Aphrodite which was originally discovered in Rome but was moved to Florence in 1677: it was much admired and copied by connoisseurs and artists throughout the ensuing centuries.