ANDREA SACCHI
(Rome, 1599 - 1661)
Study of a head
Oil on canvas, cm. 46x 36 cm
NOTES: Catalogue edition of works from the Intermidiart collection. Certificate of Guarantee and Legal Origin. Unframed work:
The magnificent technique that can be seen under the yellowed paint and the rich painting material reveal the hand of an artist inspired by the style of Andrea Sacchi (Rome, 1599 - 1661). With references, in the naturalness and expressiveness of the face , to the culture of Carraccis.
Andrea Sacchi, born in 1599 in Nettuno (Papal State, Italy) was an Italian painter, the main Italian representative of the Classical style in 17th century painting in Rome. Sacchi trained under Francesco Albani in Bologna. After returning to Rome in 1621, he worked there until his death, except for brief visits to northern Italy after 1635 and Paris in 1640. His Bolognese training gave him an initial inclination toward classicism and a love of color. But Raphael's direct influence had already been added to these qualities in The Miracle of St. Gregory (1625-1627). This work brought Sacchi to the attention of the Sacchetti family, which hired him, along with Pietro da Cortona, to decorate their villa in Castel Fusano from 1627-29. The two artists were subsequently commissioned by Cardinal Antonio Barberini to decorate the Palazzo Barberini in Rome. Sacchi's ceiling fresco, Allegory of Divine Wisdom (1629-33), is a serious, static work, distinctly Raphaelite in conception and containing relatively few figures, in contrast to Peter's full Baroque triumph of Divine Providence in the adjacent room. Sacchi's two altarpieces at Santa Maria della Concezione dei Cappuccini in Rome (1631-38) are also notable for their classicism in church paintings. His most important work after the Wisdom of God is a series of eight canvases illustrating the life of St. John the Baptist in the dome of the San Giovanni baptistery in Rome (1639-45). Sacchi painted several portraits, but concentrated mainly on religious works.
The work in question, moreover, does not lack suggestions of affinity with Sacchi's production. The results, however, lead to a probable attribution to a painter close to or in the circle of the Roman master, influenced by this Bolognese classicism, and previously modulated and updated in Baroque tones.
Although known for his classicist compositions, we know Andrea Sacchi's studies or models, which have a remarkable naturalistic sensibility.
This head study - perhaps intended for a private devotional or for an amateur, given its small size - actually depicts an iconographic subject very much taken up by the artist, not to exclude its religious character, that of a saint (?) . From our canvas emerges a strong mix between his Bolognese training and the Baroque of the Roman area. The vertical and visually restricted cut of this canvas allows the painter to bring the protagonist of the episode to the foreground. Dedicated to the foreground is the figure of a middle-aged man, represented here at three-quarters length and half length, emerging from a dark, polished background.
The state of preservation of the canvas is quite good. The painting surface is presented in patina. We can see - in Wood's light - oxidized varnish, with small scattered restorations and exposure of the painting surface. The crackling is visible in sunlight compared to time. There are no major conservation issues, although there are some minor drops of color near the sides of the canvas, especially at the bottom (see photo). The frame may have been replaced at the time of lining. The painting - with a good painter's hand - is very interesting both because of the iconographic setting and the drawing of colors, and is synonymous with an artist of great interpretive value, interesting for further attribution studies. The dimensions of the canvas are cm. 46 x 36. The painting is sold without a frame, although it is framed in a new gilded frame in the Baroque style (dimensions 65 x 55 x 6 approx.).
Provenance: private collection
