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| Carlo Dolci (Florence 1616 - Florence 1687)
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| Christ carrying the cross and Madonna
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Both inscribed on the reverse of the original stretcher in an old hand, possibly the artist's own, the first: IHS/ Amore/ et/ nostra/ redenzio/ Desiderium and the second AS/ 1678 à 13/ di maggio princi/ piata/ Satisma:/ Maria Ora/ pro nobis pechato/ ribus
Oil on canvas, a pair
12 ¾ x 10 ¿ in. (32.3 x 27 cm.)
Provenance: Marchesi de Mari, Genoa, from whom traditionally believed to have been acquired by the great-grandmother of the present owner some time before 1884; thence by family descent to the previous owner.
These two, exquisitely painted devotional pictures, unpublished but recently accepted by Baldassari as autograph works, were painted in 1678 according to the date on the reverse of one of the stretchers,. The Madonna, and presumably its pendant the Christ Carrying the Cross, was conceived on 13th May 1678 and the old handwriting on the reverse of the stretcher may well be Dolci’s own. The form of the date with interlocking initials - A[nno] S[alutatis] - may be compared to Dolci’s date and inscription on Patience, datable to the previous year. The inscriptions on the reverse of the paintings may also be interpreted as prayers of redemption with invocations to Christ and the Madonna to intercede on the artist or patron’s behalf. This, together with their intimate scale, would suggest that the paintings were intended for private devotion. The pairing of Christ with the Madonna is by no means unique in Dolci’s œuvre: a very comparable small-scale ‘diptych’ showing Christ and the Madonna, also inscribed on the reverse and dating from three years later, 1681, is in the Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen, though there the figure of Christ is shown with his eyes to Heaven rather than carrying the Cross and confronting the viewer.
Both of the Colnaghi compositions exist in other versions within Dolci’s œuvre but no other variant was executed on such a small scale. The Christ carrying the cross is an almost exact replica of a larger work, dated by Baldassari to the second half of the 1660s in a private collection in Rome. The Colnaghi Christ repeats its earlier prototype almost exactly, with the same choice of colours and an identical composition (the latter being equally suited to a rectangular and an octagonal-shaped canvas). The reddish highlights in Christ’s hair have been replicated exactly and Dolci has used gold paint not only for Christ’s halo in our work, but also for his hair, lashes and irises. However there are minor variations which give an added pathos to the Colnaghi version: Christ’s eyes have been brought slightly closer together and Dolci has delicately painted a teary edge along the lower lids, absent from the larger variant. In both versions Christ’s lips are parted, as if he is about speak, and the directness of his gaze underlines the pathos of the scene. Both versions are remarkable for the meticulousness with which the artist has painted the details of Christs’s hair and beard, the Crown of Thorns, and the grain of the wood of the Cross which heighten the emotional impact and spiritual intensity of the image.
The Madonna is similar in composition to a number of works by Dolci, variously identified as the Madonna addolorata or the ‘Madonna del dito’; the former when her clasped hands are also included in the composition, the latter when her finger emerges from her drapery (as in our picture). It was arguably Dolci’s most popular composition and several autograph, studio and later replicas exist. The prime original of both Madonna types is generally considered to be the painting formerly at Stowe, dated by Baldassari to circa 1655, which shows the Madonna with clasped hands. The particular representation of the Madonna seen in our picture, with the finger protruding from the drapery is, however, almost identical to that in the 1681 ‘diptych’ in Copenhagen mentioned above, which was painted three years later than our picture. Her drapery falls in identical folds, her expression is similar, as is the porcelain-like rendering of her face and the golden aureole behind the crown of her head. The only difference between the two works is the inclusion of her finger which, given its slightly weaker execution, might have been an afterthought. There are also another versions of this subject in the Corsini Gallery, Rome and a copy in the Borghese Gallery in Rome which attest to the contemporary popularity of this powerful devotional image.
Our pair of paintings originally hung alongside a third canvas, of similar dimensions and also octagonal, representing The Archangel Gabriel. That work is of inferior quality and was probably painted by an artist active in Dolci’s studio, perhaps commissioned by a patron who wished to own a ‘triptych’ rather than a ‘diptych’.
Carlo Dolci was a pupil of Jacopo Vignali, and although he painted numerous portraits, he is perhaps best known for his religious scenes, many of which were copied by his pupils Loma Mancini and his daughter Agnese. Dolci’s use of soft, delicate colours, his great attention to detail, and his passion in the rendering of his subject’s devout facial expression all contribute to the sensitivity and emotional expressiveness of his paintings.
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P. and D. Colnaghi and Co., Ltd - 15 Old Bond Street London W1S 4AX, United Kingdom Tel: +44-20-7491 7408 Fax: +44-20-7491 8851 contact@colnaghi.co.uk
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