Description
Giulio Carpioni (Venice 1613 – Vicenza 1678) – Madonna and Child with Saints Joseph, Francis, Dominic, and Anthony of Padua.
Oil on canvas, unframed.
– The painting is attributed with certainty to Giulio Carpioni (Venice 1613 – Vicenza 1678) based on stylistic comparisons (see “Saints Vitus, Modestus, and Crescentia,” Church of Saints Felice and Fortunato, Vicenza; and “Madonna and Child with Saints John the Baptist and Anthony,” Gallerie dell’Accademia, Venice.) – Reference bibliography: G. M. Pilo, “Giulio Carpioni, tutta la pittura,” Alfieri Editore, 1961.
Condition report: Lined canvas. The painted surface is in good condition.
Giulio Carpioni (Venice 1613 – Vicenza 1678) was a leading master of the Venetian Baroque. Originally from Venice, he trained under Padovanino, where he learned the importance of color from studying the great masters of the sixteenth century. He later traveled to Rome, where he became acquainted with the teachings of Roman classicism, which heavily influenced his entire production. He settled in Vicenza, a city populated by a wealthy and cultured clientele, where he was highly regarded for his elegant and refined style. Infused with classicism, his works propose balanced and harmonious compositions, enveloping the depicted figures in an enveloping, almost ethereal atmosphere. Carpioni became particularly renowned for his mythological representations, depicting bacchanals, cherubs, and various allegories, but given his fame, he was inevitably awarded ecclesiastical commissions for various churches in Venice and Vicenza. Our arched altarpiece might resemble a preparatory sketch for an altarpiece, but given its meticulousness and the lack of a final execution, it is much more likely a commissioned work intended for private devotion. At the top center is the Madonna and Child, depicted in a pose unique in the master’s oeuvre and surrounded by Saints Joseph, Francis, Dominic, and Anthony of Padua. The profile of Saint Joseph mirrors the figure of Saint Vitus painted for the altarpiece in the church of Saints Felice and Fortunato in Vicenza, while numerous other iconographic references can be traced back to the altarpiece “Madonna and Child with Saints John the Baptist and Anthony of Padua,” originally from the Cathedral of Vicenza and now at the Gallerie dell’Accademia in Venice (such as the posture of our Saint Anthony or the figure of the kneeling Saint Joseph offering a flower, identical to the Saint Anthony in Venice).
