Annunciation, Girolamo Bonini, known as Anconitano (Ancona, circa 1600 – Bologna 1680)

Girolamo Bonini, known as Anconitano (Ancona, circa 1600 – Bologna 1680)

Annunciation (or Madonna del Bell'Angelo)

oil on canvas (115 x 91 cm. – Framed 134 x 108 cm.)

Work accompanied by expertise of Prof. Emilio Negro

The work, certainly commissioned as an object of private devotion, shows the Annunciation to the Virgin Mary, a evangelical episode here set on the two figures portrayed in the foreground, the Archangel Gabriel with spread wings, a portrait of an unearthly beauty, and the Virgin; we see her portrayed here absorbed in reading a prayer book with her eyes humbly turned downwards as a sign of devotion, while a small cherub gives her white lilies, a symbol of purity and chastity.

In the upper part of the composition the austere image of God the Father, with the dove irradiated with light, emblem of the Holy Spirit, surrounded by a flock of angels fluttering among the clouds full of intense flashes and plays of light, in full baroque style.

It should also be noted that the image of the Savior's mother in a delicately devout attitude, with the yellow veil, the large blue cloak and the usual modest red dress from which the edges of the white shirt protrude, is to be interpreted as a sort of tender allegory of sacred love.

The painting in question is an interesting replica with variations of the composition commissioned to Francesco Albani for the Fioravanti chapel, in the ancient church of S. Bartolomeo in Bologna, inaugurated in 1632, also known as the 'Madonna del Bell'Angelo', thanks to the dazzling beauty of the announcing angel (source: https://baroqueart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=object;BAR;it;Mus12_D;6;it&cp). [1]

Returning to our depiction, its authorship can therefore be attributed to a talented pupil of Albani who was able, like the master, to give us a truly masterful composition, knowing how to mix the naturalistic lesson of the Carracci with the rounded lines and the lively movement of the Roman baroque poetics.

Presumably originally commissioned to decorate the walls of a noble chapel, it is possible to identify the author in Girolamo Bonini known as Anconetano, (Ancona c.1600 – Bologna c.1680), a little-known but very talented artist, active mainly in Bologna, but also in Rome and Venice.

In the City of the Two Towers he participated in the frescoes of the Farnese Hall in the Palazzo Comunale, where under the direction of Carlo Cignani he painted together with the no less talented Lorenzo Pasinelli, Luigi Scaramuccia and Giovanni Maria Bibbiena.

Compositions which, like the painting in question, are characterized by an exuberant and captivating liveliness to the point of obtaining a combination of luminous effects and warm colours, inspired by the paintings of the master Albani but already diluted towards softer cadences now tending towards rococo.

[1] Annunciation, Francesco Albani (Bologna 1578-1660), (Church of Ss. Bartolomeo and Gaetano), 1632

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

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

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