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27
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Maestro del San Sebastiano MONTI (active in the 17th century…
See original version (French)
27
-
Maestro del San Sebastiano MONTI (active in the 17th century…
See original version (French)
Estimate €8,000 - €12,000
Voluntary lot
Description
Maestro del San Sebastiano MONTI (active in the 17th century), probably
Giovanni BELLANDI (active c. 1608–1626)
The Ecstasy of Saint Charles Borromeo
Oil on canvas
H_89.5 x W_65.5 cm
On its original canvas, mounted on stretcher bars
Bibliography:
- Francesco Frangi, Daniele Crespi. *La giovinezza ritrovata*, Milan, 2012, pp. 72–85
- Giovanni Stefano and Giuseppe Montalto, Two Painters from Treviglio in Baroque Lombardy, conference proceedings, Treviglio, Auditorium Centro Civico Culturale, 12 April 2014, edited by Odette D’Albo, Milan, 2015, pp. 64 and 65
Our painting depicts The Ecstasy of Saint Charles Borromeo (1538–1584), Archbishop of Milan, canonised in 1610. His cult saw considerable growth in Lombard painting during the early 17th century, particularly in the context of the Counter-Reformation.Our painting bears a resemblance to another *Ecstasy of Saint Charles Borromeo*, attributed to the Maestro del San Sebastiano Monti, which was sold at Christie’s in Milan in November 2011. The painter was part of the Milanese artistic circle of the first half of the 17th century. His work bears the influence of Cerano, Giulio Cesare Procaccini and, more particularly, Daniele Crespi. The compilation of his catalogue raisonné is relatively recent and owes much to the research of Francesco Frangi, particularly his book on Daniele Crespi, published in 2012. His conventional name derives from a painting depicting Saint Sebastian accompanied by two angels, formerly in the Monti collection and now held at the Archdiocese of Milan.
More recently, the art historian Giulio Bora has proposed identifying this anonymous master as the painter and sculptor Giovanni Bellandi (active c. 1608–1626), a hypothesis put forward at the symposium on 12 April 2014 and published in 2015 under the editorship of Odette d’Albo. This connection is based in particular on the stylistic similarity between Bellandi’s sculptures and the paintings of the Maestro del San Sebastiano Monti, which, in Bora’s words, share ‘the sophisticated language of Giulio Cesare Procaccini, combined with clear typological and expressive characteristics inherited from the Cerano school, all interpreted in a deeply personal manner’.
The painting we present here sheds new light on the body of work by this still relatively little-known painter. The existence of two versions of the same composition, of comparable quality of execution—although our example appears to be more accomplished—is particularly interesting. This repetition may bear witness to the success of the composition and its circulation amongst a clientele likely linked to Milan’s religious institutions, which were particularly devoted to the cult of Saint Charles Borromeo, whose canonisation was still very recent.
See original version (French)
Auto-translation. Refer to original language for legal validity.
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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