Andrea Sacchi (1599 – 1661), Workshop of - Sant’Andrea

PITTORE ROMANO DEL XVII SECOLO
Attributed/Workshop to ANDREA SACCHI
(Nettuno, 1599 – Rome, 1661)
Sant’Andrea, 1630 approx.
Oil on canvas, cm. 96 x 72

NOTE: Publication catalog of the works from the Intermidiart collection. Certificate of Legitimate Provenance. Work without frame:

We thank Dr. Federica Spadotto, Prof. Francesco Petrucci, and Prof. Michele Danieli, for providing attribution suggestions for the work.

We present in the auction catalog an interesting unpublished painting, oil on canvas of high quality, depicting an old bearded man, three-quarter view with gaze turned upward. The protagonist of this intense composition is Saint Andrew, one of the twelve Apostles, a figure of profound veneration since the early Christian era.
A fisherman in Galilee and brother of Peter, the saint — whose biographical events are mainly drawn from the Acts of Andrew (3rd century), later taken up in the Middle Ages in Jacopo da Varazze’s Golden Legend — undertook missionary journeys in Scythia, Greece and Asia Minor. Here, in addition to spreading God’s word among pagans, he would have performed numerous miracles, healing the sick and freeing cities and dwellings from demonic presence. His strenuous fight against idolatry and the neglect of Roman sacred laws ultimately led to his death sentence: he was crucified at Patras by order of the local governor.
The painting stands out against a neutral, brown-toned background, from which the figure of the Saint emerges powerfully, shaped by generous and secure brushwork. The light, calibrated and enveloping, concentrates on the face and bust, caressing the flesh with a tender blush that gives naturalness and expressive intensity. The result is a devotionally moving image, in which the sweetness of the flesh blends with a solid formal construction.
The work has recently undergone a cautious cleaning intervention at the restoration cabinet of Prof. Gaetano Alagna, which has allowed its execution quality to be strengthened and the attribution, already proposed by critics, to a Roman‐school author around 1630 (F. Petrucci), in the manner of Andrea Sacchi (Nettuno, 1599 – Rome, 1661), to be confirmed.
The painting indeed reveals full belonging to the best figurative culture of central Italy in the first half of the 17th century. Notable are the secure and decisive stroke of the brush, clean and well‑charged, attesting to a cultivated and composite graphical conduct, with still perceptible echoes of the final phase of Roman mannerism, united with the icy classical ideal of the Carracci. Subtle chiaroscuro intonations of Venetian origin and a compositional scheme of Emilia‑heritage, linked to knowledge of Guido Reni and Francesco Albani, are also present.
These stylistic elements — not secondary — lead to approaching the work to Andrea Sacchi, a probable son of an artist (even the father, perhaps adoptive, Benedetto, was a painter). Trained under the Cavalier d'Arpino and the Bolognese Albani, as well as an imitator of Reni, Sacchi also worked under Pietro da Cortona, establishing himself as one of the best masters active in Rome in the 17th century.
A Roman by adoption, he worked for Cardinal Francesco Maria del Monte, a well‑known patron of Caravaggio and a patron of the Accademia di San Luca. He executed altarpieces and cartoons for mosaics of Saint Peter’s Basilica, benefiting also from the patronage of Cardinal Antonio Barberini, through which he obtained prestigious commissions among the most eminent Roman families and the Curia.
Andrea Sacchi is rightly considered the leader of the so‑called “anti‑Baroque” classicism, a current that led him to develop compositions of high aesthetic nobility, marked by formal balance, chromatic clarity, and expressive measure. His teaching was decisive for the formation of artists such as Pier Francesco Mola and Carlo Maratta.
Also in the canvas under consideration, Sacchi’s stylistic hallmarks are recognizable: extreme formal precision, sharp and well‑balanced color harmonies, Venetian‑derived colorings, and the pursuit of a classic Renian ideal, evidently anti‑Baroque. The smoothness of forms, the balance of tones and the modulation of chiaroscuro recall the works of the master at the height of his maturity.
Regarding the state of conservation, the canvas presents overall discrete conditions for its age. The pictorial surface preserves a homogeneous patina and presents no readability difficulties. Under Wood’s light, a few small point restorations emerge, though without particular significance.
The recent cleaning intervention, carried out at the aforementioned restoration cabinet of Prof. Gaetano Alagna, was limited to the removal of surface dirt and the application of a light, opaque protective film, improving the readability of the work, previously partially compromised by non‑homogeneous interventions. The original balance of the chromatic and chiaroscural values of the pictorial film has thus been restored.
Study of the execution technique — which shows stratified color overlays —, analysis of the preparation (gesso and animal glue-based) and observation of the canvas weave confirm the 17th‑century dating and the high quality level of the work. No significant conservation issues are currently detectable. The original canvas presents an old lining, which does not seem to require further interventions; the frame appears plausibly replaced during such an operation. The dimensions of the canvas are cm. 96 x 72.
The painting is sold without a frame, although it is complemented by a beautiful frame.

PROVENANCE: Private Collection

PUBLICATION:
- Unpublished;
- I MITI E IL TERRITORIO nella Sicilia dalle mille culture. INEDITA QUADRERIA general catalog of the paintings from the cycle “I Miti e il territorio,” Editor Lab_04, Marsala, 2026.

In the event of a sale outside Italian territory, the buyer must wait for the processing times of export procedures.