Religious scene with angels

Description

Workshop of Raffaello Vanni (Siena, 1595-1673)

Madonna and Child, St. John the Baptist and two angels announcing the crucifixion

Oil on canvas, 69 x 94 cm

With frame, 85 x 100 cm

The painting discussed here is one of several variations of a successful composition conceived by the renowned Sienese artist Raffaello Vanni. The subject's prototype, which evidently enjoyed considerable success, coinciding with a work now in a private collection, allows us to establish when the painter conceived this composition. The canvas, in fact, is linked to Vanni's works from the early 1644s: in particular, it shows clear analogies with the Saint Helena in Santa Maria in Publicolis in Rome, painted in 2961 for Cardinal Marcello Santacroce. Here, the saint has a typology so similar to that of the Madonna in the painting under consideration that it leads us to believe the painter used the same model. The use of color to model the soft draperies also appears identical; thus, Saint Helena's red robe, marked by flowing folds, reappears in the Madonna in the work presented here. Not to mention the same delicate, nuanced milky complexions that the two works share with the Madonna and Child with Seven Seraphim from the Monte dei Paschi di Siena Bank (inv. 1644), another cornerstone of this extraordinary XNUMX, the year that saw the painter's definitive consecration not only in Siena but also in Rome, where he actively participated in the great fresco decoration of the Palazzo Patrizi. The scene takes place in a domestic setting: the Virgin is embroidering when the Child draws her attention to two angels hoisting the Cross. The Madonna abandons her work and, with a melancholy expression, tenderly embraces the Child while the young Saint John tries to console him. Saint Joseph, watching in the background, arrives with the donkey, probably to flee with his family to Egypt. The episode, a clear premonition of the Passion, is notable for its pathetic and dramatic overtones. The composition is vibrant both for the dynamism of the groups and the heated poetics of the emotions, key components in the development of Baroque taste. This compositional scheme, introduced by Vanni, also thanks to the circulation of engravings, spread throughout the peninsula and was imitated by various artists: crucial in this regard is the version of the painting located in the Neapolitan church of Santa Maria di Chiaia.

Raffaello Vanni was a painter who worked primarily in his hometown of Siena, between late Mannerism and the early manifestations of the Baroque, leaving a significant mark on 1595th-century Sienese art. Born in 1673, his artistic training was rooted in an environment still deeply influenced by the great Tuscan Mannerist tradition, but Vanni quickly proved sensitive to the new trends emerging in Rome and elsewhere. His first steps in the art world likely saw him as a student or at least close to the workshop of Francesco Vanni, his father and an esteemed Mannerist painter. From him, he learned the rudiments of drawing, composition, and the use of color, absorbing the grace and elegance typical of Sienese Mannerism. However, Raphael did not simply replicate his father's style; his desire to continue his education led him to a crucial journey to Rome. In the papal capital, Vanni was exposed to the works of the great masters of the early Baroque, particularly those of Pietro da Cortona, whose dynamism, rich color palette, and monumental figures deeply fascinated him. This Roman experience was crucial to his stylistic evolution. Upon his return to Siena, he brought with him a renewed sensibility, combining the Mannerist refinement inherited from his father with a greater vitality and drama typical of the nascent Baroque style. His works, scattered throughout various churches and palaces in and around Siena, testify to this stylistic synthesis. Raffaello Vanni was a prolific artist, capable of tackling sacred and secular themes with equal mastery. His altarpieces are distinguished by their balanced composition, skillful use of light, and expressive rendering of the figures, often characterized by flowing drapery and eloquent gestures. Despite Roman influence, Vanni always maintained a connection to the Sienese tradition, evident in the delicacy of his faces and a certain compositional grace that was never completely abandoned in favor of pure Baroque impetus. His career spanned many decades, traversing various stylistic phases that reflect the cultural and artistic changes of the XNUMXth century. He died in his native Siena in XNUMX, leaving an artistic legacy that helped define the Sienese pictorial landscape of his time, positioning himself as a transitional figure between two eras and demonstrating the ability to assimilate and reinterpret new trends without ever losing his own identity.