Madonna with Child, St. John and St. Catherine, Giovanni Battista Ramenghi, Bagnacavallo the Younger (Bologna 1531 – 1601)

Giovanni Battista Ramenghi, the younger Bagnacavallo (Bologna 1531 – 1601)

Virgin Mary with Baby Jesus, Saint John and Saint Catherine of Alexandria

Oil on canvas (92 x 79 cm – Framed 111 x 98 cm.)

Expertise of Dr. Riccardo Battiferro Bertocchi

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The superb composition that we propose portrays the Virgin with the Child, accompanied by the little Saint John and Saint Catherine of Alexandria, the latter with the attributes of martyrdom, the palm leaf and the wheel.

The painter's choice regarding the composition is masterful which, wanting to propose the iconographic theme of the mystical marriage of Saint Catherine of Alexandria, immortalizes the Saint who received the ring, here captured in the moment she seems to receive a kiss from little Jesus.

It is a painting of uncommon beauty, where especially in the female figures there is an unusual search for formal perfection, combined with a skilful use of colours, such as the bright blue and intense red of the Madonna's clothes.

Not least is the acrimony of the faces and hands of the Virgin, haughty and aristocratic, and of Saint Catherine, whose intense face caught in profile in the act of directing a kiss of devotion to the Divine Child is extremely appreciable.

The realism of the little Jesus and John the Baptist (whose left arm wraps around the cross to which the traditional ribbon with the writing of the Agnus Dei is tied), rosy, plump and with curly blonde hair, contrasts with the hieratic majesty of the two women.

The canvas was initially attributed for stylistic reasons to the Ravenna painter Bartolomeo Ramenghi, known as Bagnacavallo (Bagnacavallo 1484 – Bologna 1542), protagonist of the Emilia-Romagna artistic scene of the first half of the 500th century.

In this regard, a comparison has been proposed here with a work of similar theme by Ramenghi senior, oil on panel, with the variant of Saint Joseph in place of the Baptist, sold in March 2010 by the Farsetti auction house https://www.farsettiarte .it/it/asta-0151-1/bartolomeo-ramenghi-detto-bagnacavallo-sacra–71014

However, the analysis of the pictorial material places the creation of the work at the beginning of the 1531th century and would attribute its authorship to his son Giovanni Battista Ramenghi, Bagnacavallo junior (Bologna 1601 – XNUMX), himself a painter of a certain fame and pupil of his famous father.

It would therefore be a replica made by the son of a paternal canvas, a model which was very successful at the time and which was therefore requested by the rich conservative patrons of Counter-Reformation Bologna, still linked to Raphaelesque stylistic elements, which were also now anachronistic at the dawn of the 600s.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

The work is sold complete with a pleasant golden frame and is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity and descriptive iconographic card.

We take care of and organize the transport of the purchased works, both for Italy and abroad, through professional and insured carriers.

Contact us for any information, we will be happy to answer you. It is also possible to see the painting in the gallery in Riva del Garda, we will be happy to welcome you to show you our collection of works.

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