Bartolomeo Mancini (1663 - 1727), ‘La Madonna del Dito’ (Our Lady of the Finger), Bartolomeo Mancini (1663 - 1727), ‘La Madonna del Dito’ (Our Lady of the Finger)

16 × 14.5cm

The Head of the Mourning Mary in a Blue Cloak derives from a composition by Carlo Dolci (1616-1686) in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, painted c. 1660-1680 and repeated by many artists. Dolci was Mancini's teacher. The dates of his life are not exactly known, but he apparently lived in the second half of the 17th, to the early 18th century. Mancini painted numerous versions of this Madonna, which was very popular as a devotional painting because of its expressiveness and beauty. One of these paintings, in the collection of G. Pratesi (Florence), is dated 1691. The name of the Madonna goes back to the finger sticking out of the blue robe. According to legend, a picture of the Virgin Mary in 1527 showed Pope Clemens VII the way to flee to Castel Sant'Angelo when Rome was conquered.
oil on copper
16×14.5 cm