Guido Reni (1575–1642), Follower of - The Madonna in Prayer

SHIPPING

I can arrange shipping within 24–48 hours. This is why the shipping cost may be slightly higher. The item will be packed with the utmost care using bubble wrap and protective cardboard, as this is a fragile and valuable work. In addition, the shipment will be insured in order to minimise any inconvenience or risk during transport.

Are you on holiday or away from home? I offer a premium delivery service with maximum flexibility. Upon request, I can ship the parcel to the nearest available collection point, allowing you to collect it conveniently when you prefer.

KEPT IN A CLOSED DISPLAY CABINET

I am one of the few sellers able to ship worldwide, thanks to having a registered EORI number. This provides greater peace of mind and helps facilitate smoother and faster customs procedures for shipments outside the European Union.

⸻

— CONDITION OF THE WORK

The work is presented in excellent overall condition. Of particular interest is the well-developed age-related craquelure, which bears witness to the history and ageing of the painting, proposed as dating from the late 18th to early 19th century.

The reverse appears to suggest that the canvas was probably relined at some point in its history.

⸻

— SIGNATURE AND AUTHORSHIP

On the right-hand side of the painting there is a signature or inscription that is not perfectly legible, apparently associated with an unidentified artist working within the tradition of Guido Reni and Giovanni Battista Salvi, known as Sassoferrato.

This artistic connection can be appreciated particularly in the remarkable pictorial quality of the Virgin’s eyes, face and hands. Her upward gaze, rendered with particular attention to the luminosity of the eyes and the delicacy of the eyelids, gives the figure the absorbed and contemplative expression characteristic of the classicising tradition of Marian painting.

The face is modelled through soft transitions of light and shade, smooth flesh tones and a controlled idealisation of the features. Equally refined are the joined hands, with their elongated fingers delicately modelled by light.

Together with the composed pose, inclined head and serene expression, these elements recall the devotional language developed around the models of Guido Reni and, in particular, Sassoferrato.

The connection with Sassoferrato is especially relevant in the idealised purity of the face, the almost porcelain-like luminosity of the flesh tones and the clarity of the devotional image. The influence of Guido Reni’s tradition may be perceived particularly in the emotional treatment of the upward gaze, the idealised elegance of the figure and its deeply contemplative character.

Works offering significant iconographic comparisons include:

1. Sassoferrato – The Virgin in Prayer, 1640–1650, National Gallery, London. An important reference for the widespread iconography of the Virgin represented alone, half-length and absorbed in prayer.
2. Sassoferrato – Madonna orante (Virgin in Prayer), Galleria Doria Pamphilj, documented in the Federico Zeri Photographic Archive. It provides another significant example of the iconographic type of the Virgin alone in prayer.
3. Sassoferrato – The Madonna in Prayer, Dorotheum, 9 June 2020, lot 47. This comparison is particularly interesting because the Virgin is depicted half-length, with her hands joined and her gaze directed upwards. The Dorotheum catalogue itself relates the composition to models from the tradition of Guido Reni.
4. Engravings after Guido Reni in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, including works by Gilles Rousselet (1665) and Domenico Cunego (1776). These testify to the long-lasting circulation of comparable Marian devotional models, including compositions conceived in an oval format.

⸻

— COMPARISON WITH SASSOFERRATO – DOROTHEUM, LOT 47, 9 JUNE 2020

A particularly significant iconographic comparison can be made with Sassoferrato’s The Madonna in Prayer, offered by the renowned auction house Dorotheum in 2020.

As in the present painting, the Virgin is represented half-length, with her hands joined in prayer and her gaze intensely directed upwards, following a devotional model that the Dorotheum catalogue itself relates to the tradition of Guido Reni.

In the present work, this connection is particularly evident in the idealised treatment of the face, the luminous eyes turned towards Heaven and the elegant modelling of the Virgin’s slender hands.

At the same time, the painting displays its own distinctive characteristics, particularly in the treatment of the drapery, the colour palette and the delicate halo surrounding the Virgin’s head.