Jacopo LIGOZZI (Verona, 1547 - Florence,... - Lot 1 - Ader

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15000 - 20000 EUR
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Result : 20 480EUR
Jacopo LIGOZZI (Verona, 1547 - Florence,... - Lot 1 - Ader
Jacopo LIGOZZI (Verona, 1547 - Florence, 1627) The Martyrdom of Saint Catherine of Alexandria Copper Monogrammed lower left: letters "I L" joined by a cross 51,4 x 35,2 cm Provenance: Han Jüngeling Gallery (Het Konstkabinet), The Hague, Netherlands. We thank Mrs. Lucilla Conigliello for confirming the authenticity of this painting. Since the beginning of the 17th century, Ligozzi has been interested in private devotional paintings, of which our painting is a fine example. The artist emphasizes the power of divine intervention over death, turning the torment intended for the saint against her persecutors. Ligozzi seems to particularly appreciate the subject of St. Catherine's martyrdom, which he illustrates several times. The Medici account book refers to the purchase of a Martyrdom of St. Catherine by the painter on August 5, 1603 (unfortunately, we have no information about the size or support of the work). The inventory of July 24, 1684 mentions it. There is also another Martyrdom of Saint Catherine, earlier than ours, in the Palazzo Durazzo Pallavicini in Genoa, of which a preparatory drawing is kept in the Louvre. We can compare our painting with a drawing kept in the Louvre and even more with the engraving made by Philippe Thomassin that Edmond Bruwaert proposes to date from 1619. Certain elements of our painting can be found in other works by Ligozzi; for example, the attitude of Saint Catherine is a repeat of that of the Virgin painted for the Abbey of San Fedele at Poppi in 1601. The faces of the dead soldiers are reminiscent of two drawings: Death Piercing a Soldier with a Spear (Paris, Musée du Louvre) and Death Exterminating the Human Race (Paris, Musée du Louvre). Two repeats of the same dimensions, also painted on copper, testify to the success of this composition. One is a ricordo, which was sold in Vienna (Dorotheum, October 18, 2016, no. 217 as attributed to Pietro de Lignis) and at the Kunstauktionshaus Schlosser in Bamberg (March 25, 2017, no. 706). The other, by Pietro de Lignis, went on sale in New York (Sotheby's, January 28, 1999, no. 409).
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