Scuola lombarda (XVIII) - Allegoria di Flora

Splendid oil painting on canvas from the seventeenth century (17th century) depicting a noble female figure, traditionally identified as the Allegory of Flora (or of Spring) due to the flowers and the golden crown. However, the composition and the rich regal attributes also allow the subject to be interpreted as a figure of a Saint or a biblical/historical heroine (such as Saint Dorothea or a martyr queen).
The work is attributable to the Lombard School.
The solid physiognomy and the strong contrast of colors (the bright red of the dress and the blue of the mantle) are typical of the Italian Baroque.
The work was originally purchased at an auction sale in a state of total traceability.
The painting has undergone a major conservative restoration intervention that makes it ready to hang:
It has been stabilized with a lining (new support canvas on the back) and mounted on a modern wooden stretcher. The structure is very healthy.
The canvas has been cleaned. Significant pictorial reintegration interventions are noted, located particularly in the face area and on some parts of the background, carried out to cover old color losses and abrasions of time.
For the purpose of maximum collecting transparency, the photo of the work before restoration is attached as the last image. As visible from the archival document, the canvas presented historic and very severe color losses that had compromised the right side of the face and chest. The restorer performed a major mimetic pictorial reintegration intervention, saving the work and reconstructing the missing parts over the surviving original passages. The 17th-century composition and expressiveness have been fully preserved.
It is perfect as a "statement piece" for architects and interior designers or for collectors: placed in a modern, minimalist, or contemporary design environment, it creates an eclectic, elegant, and highly atmospheric contrast.
Dimensions 80.2 x 60.4 cm