51 - Sassoferrato – Madonna and Child Asleep Oil on canvas, 111.
See original version (Italian)

Estimate €70,000 - €120,000

Description

Sassoferrato – Madonna and Child Asleep Oil on canvas, 111.5 x 130 cm From the prestigious Alana Collection, this painting is a significant example of Sassoferrato’s devotional work and his distinctive relationship with the great masters of Bolognese and Roman classicism. The composition depicts the Virgin in adoration of the sleeping Child, lying on a bed in the foreground. Mary, with her hands clasped, emerges from the half-light behind her, whilst the rich purple drapery and the bed’s fabrics lend the scene an intimate yet solemn atmosphere. The contrast between the luminosity of the Child’s complexion and the deeper tones of the surroundings accentuates the meditative significance of the image.As noted by Andrei Bliznukov, the compositional model can be traced back to Guido Reni’s famous *Madonna and the Sleeping Child*, housed in the Doria Pamphilj Gallery in Rome, a design that became widely known, not least through the engraving by Cornelis Bloemaert.The relationship with Reni’s prototype is not, however, limited to a simple iconographic reproduction. Sassoferrato, in fact, reworks the composition in his own style, characterised by a smooth painting technique, an extremely precise line and a carefully balanced chromatic harmony. Bliznukov highlights in particular the close correspondence between the purple hue of the drapery and that of Reni’s painting, an element which might indicate direct familiarity with the pictorial model.The facial features of the Virgin and Child, as well as the treatment of chiaroscuro, find precise parallels in Sassoferrato’s own body of work. Particularly significant is the comparison with the Saint Barbara in the Basilica of San Pietro in Perugia, especially in the construction of the profile and the nose through distinct transitions of light and shadow.Even more pertinent is the comparison with the fainting Madonna in the ‘Deposition of Christ into the Tomb’, also housed in Perugia, in which the rendering of the closed eyes and eyelids bears close similarities to the face of the Child in the present painting. The Deposition bears the date 1639, a reference which Bliznukov considers useful in proposing a chronological dating of the work in question to around the late 1630s. The theme of the Madonna with the Sleeping Child was taken up on several occasions by Sassoferrato. Bliznukov identifies several versions considered to be by the artist’s own hand, including examples formerly in London, at Sotheby’s, 8 December 1971, lot 108, in a private collection in Milan, at the Galleria Parmeggiani in Reggio Emilia and in the Lemme collection in Rome, as well as various copies and workshop replicas.This series of works is entirely consistent with Sassoferrato’s practice, as he often revisited his most successful compositions in multiple autograph versions, maintaining a high standard of quality whilst introducing variations in format, colour and detail. Framed.The work is accompanied by a critical catalogue entry by Andrei Bliznukov, dated Florence, 13 October 2019. Bibliography: A. Bliznukov, catalogue entry for *The Alana Collection*, edited by S. Chiodo, vol. IV, Florence, in preparation.Provenance: The Alana Collection, Newark, Delaware; private collection, Modena.

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Auction time 10/29/2026 at 3:00 PM

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51 - Sassoferrato – Madonna and Child Asleep Oil on canvas, 111. See original version (Italian)

51 - Sassoferrato – Madonna and Child Asleep Oil on canvas, 111.
See original version (Italian)