Workshop of Giuseppe Cesari, Il Giuseppino or the Cavaliere d'Arpino (Arpino, Italy, 1568 - Rome, Italy, 1640)

Workshop of Giuseppe Cesari, Il Giuseppino or the Cavaliere d'Arpino (Arpino, Italy, 1568 - Rome, Italy, 1640) "Rest onthe Flight into Egypt". Oil on panel. 33 x 25,5cm. We attribute our panel to the workshop of Il Cavaliere d'Arpino, although its extremely high pictorial quality suggests that it could well be attributed to the master's hand. In fact, an identical version of the present panel, dated 1597 but executed on copper, is on display in the Museum of Fine Arts of Boston (inv. 34570) and it is indeed attributed to Giuseppe Cesari. On the reverse of the panel, it has two repeated red wax seals with the profile of a Roman emperor with a laurel wreath. Also on the reverse, we see the handwritten words "Baro...ci" and "Roman¿o?" in ink. Particularly curious is what we suppose may be a reference to the painter Federico Barocci, since he and Cesari were contemporary artists. In fact, on 13 August 1603 Pope Clement VIII wrote a letter to Giacomo Sorbolongo, minister to the Duke of Urbino, and ordered the acquisition of the work "The Communion" by Federico Barocci. In the letter he asked him with concern that, out of respect for the Cavaliere d'Arpino, the commission for the work should be concealed from him, as he was the most important artist working for the Pope at the time.