Giuseppe Cesari known as Cavalier d'Arpino (Arpino 1568 – Rome 1640), Dead Christ and Angels

Giuseppe Cesari known as the Cavalier d'Arpino (Arpino 1568 – Rome 1640)

Dead Christ and Angels

Oil on canvas, 92 x 70 cm

With frame, 110 x 88 cm

Expertise by Prof. Alberto Crispo

The compositional and stylistic references connect the present canvas depicting the Dead Christ supported by angels to the production of the painter Giuseppe Cesari known mainly by the name of Cavalier d'Arpino (Arpino 1568 – Rome 1640).

The unusual subject of Christ mourned by angels, although it does not appear in biblical texts, is part of the devotional tradition of the Pietà in which the lifeless body of Christ is held with the bust upright by angels or mourners. This is a typical iconography of the very fruitful second decade of the seventeenth century, in the midst of the Counter-Reformation. The pathetic theme of Christ's death responds perfectly, in its emotional potential, to the aims of the post-Tridentine Church. The typology of the dead Christ supported by angels is configured, compared to Renaissance examples, as a thematic innovation that dates back to Taddeo Zuccaro, destined to become very popular in the seventeenth century. It is no longer men but the angels of Heaven who mourn and adore the Son of God sacrificed for humanity; neither the Virgin nor the pious women nor Joseph of Arimathea appear, as if only Heaven could worthily mourn his death.

In the present the fulcrum of the composition is the livid body of the Savior, still wrapped in the shroud and with the head completely abandoned, supported by two angels wearing precious tunics; of particular value are its brooches adorned with precious gems and the subtle embroidery placed on the sleeve of the angel on the left. One of the two kisses the hand of the redeemer while the other turns his eyes to heaven.

As written above, this painting is, as stated by Prof. Alberto Crispo, to be attributed to the hand of Giuseppe Cesari, known as the Cavalier d'Arpino, one of the most esteemed and celebrated artists of 17th century Rome.

Born in Arpino in February 1568 to his father Munzio, also a painter, he moved to Rome with his mother in 1582. Under the direction of Niccolo Circignani, his first Roman teacher, he worked on the decoration of the Vatican Logge, the old hall of the Swiss and that of the Palafrenieri. It was in this context that the young Cesari, not yet a knight, made himself known for his creativity and skill, so much so that in 1583 he joined the Accademia di San Luca and in 1586 he was welcomed among the Virtuosi of the Pantheon. Following these prestigious memberships he obtained numerous commissions working for the church of Trinità dei Monti, in Palazzo Santori, in Sant'Anastasio dei Greci. In Naples he was commissioned to decorate the Sancta Sanctorum of the Certosa di San Martino. With the accession to the papacy of Clement VIII Aldobrandini, Cesari was finally able to confirm his professional success, becoming one of the most well-known and sought-after painters in Rome, especially for large decorative projects. Overwhelmed by numerous commissions, he was supported by a workshop based in Torretta, considered one of the most prestigious in Rome; it was here that Michelangelo Merisi, known as Caravaggio, arrived in the spring of 1596, before the aversion between the two took over. 1599 was the year in which Cesari was elected prince of the Accademia di San Luca and obtained the very important commission for the frescoes in the transept of San Giovanni in Laterano. Cesari's economic and social position was now largely consolidated, and so he was finally able to purchase a palace on Via del Corso, as well as having his own residence built in his native Arpino, which still partially exists; Among Cesari's clients, in addition to the rich Capitoline aristocracy, were also the emperor Rudolph II and the kings of Spain and France.

In particular, the painting can be linked to some paintings of the same subject such as the Dead Christ Supported by Angels of the M. Roy Fisher Fine Art Museum in New York, where one angel is intent on kissing the hand of the Savior while the face of the other, with his eyes pointed towards the sky, seems literally traced from our painting. Other references can be found in the example of the Cavallini Sgarbi Foundation and in a second version that has passed several times on the antique market. Other stylistic references can also be traced in the Deposition of Christ with Saints of the Cavallini Sgarbi Foundation or in the Capture of Christ in San Carlo ai Catinari.