PITTORE DI CULTURA ROMANA ATTIVO NEL XVII-XVIII SECOLO

Sketch depicting the ascension of the Virgin Oil on first canvas with antique frame, 61X34.5 cm Provenance: Rome, Marchese Cherubini Menchetti collection (according to the label on the verso of the canvas) Rome, private collection The painting is assigned to an artist of Roman culture active between the 17th and 18th centuries. The dimensions and pictorial conduction indicate its function as a preparatory study for the creation of an altarpiece, as suggested by the centering visible on the upper margin. The style denotes influences of Giovanni Battista Gaulli conditioned by a Marattesque culture, and the author demonstrates considerable inventive ability, perceptible when observing the complex scenic construction. Another aspect to be considered is the high quality of the pictorial conduction, characterized by an evident sprezzatura and a confidence in the strokes that attest to the hand of an artist confident in his own means of expression. As for the provenance, the label on the verso corresponds to that of the first inventory of the Cherubini Menchetti collection drawn up in 1950.