Master Paintings and Sculpture Part II
Master Paintings and Sculpture Part II
Property from an Important Private Collection
Giovanni Battista Salvi, called Sassoferrato
Madonna in prayer
Auction Closed
January 27, 09:38 PM GMT
Estimate
40,000 - 60,000 USD
Lot Details
Description
Property from an Important Private Collection
Giovanni Battista Salvi, called Sassoferrato
Sassoferrato 1609 - 1685 Rome
Madonna in prayer
inscribed on piece of paper affixed to reverse: No 18. / Quadro in tela di una Ma / donna in orazione di Sasso / ferrato. Comprato dal Cav[alier] Venuti per S. M. il Re / di Napoli dal Sig. Gregorio / Lanza. In Roma
oil on canvas
canvas: 23¾ by 29⅞ in.; 60.3 by 75.9 cm.
framed: 30⅜ by 36⅛ in.; 77.2 by 91.8 cm.
From whom acquired by Domenico Venuti (1745-1817) on behalf of Ferdinand IV, King of Naples (1751-1825) (from 1816, King of the Two Sicilies);
Thence by inheritance to his son, Leopoldo, Prince of Salerno (1790-1851);
From whom sequestered by Louis-Henri-Joseph de Bourbon (1756-1830), Prince of Condé, Chantilly, 1830;
Anonymous sale, Paris, Lenormand & Dayen, 11 December 1991, lot 56;
Where acquired by the present collector.
This refined Madonna, with downcast eyes and hands gathered in prayer, is typical of Sassoferrato's production. He painted numerous versions of this type of composition, with slight variations in the Madonna's dress and pose. The popularity of such Marian images is indicative of the growth of the cult of the Madonna in Counter-Reformation Rome.
The Neapolitan antiquarian and archaeologist Domenico Venuti, acting on behalf of the Bourbon King Ferdinand IV, acquired the painting from a private Roman collector. Under the auspices of Louis-Henri-Joseph de Bourbon, the work was subsequently brought to France, where it remained until acquired by the present owner.
When Lenormand & Dayen offered the painting at auction in 1991, the accompanying catalogue noted that François Macé de Lépinay had planned to include it in his catalogue raisonné of Sassoferrato's oeuvre, which remained unpublished at the time of the scholar's death.