Antonio CICOGNARA (actif à Cremona, vers 1480 – 1516)

Condemnation of Saint Lucy and the saint dragged by oxen, circa 1490 Oil and tempera (?) on panel 43 x 71 cm Restorations As a painter and miniaturist, Antonio Cicognara's work perfectly encapsulates the countless influences that existed in Cremona in the late 15th and early 16th centuries. His "expressionist" style, with its metallic, angular draperies and typical physiognomies, is linked to that of Mantegna in Mantua and Cosmè Tura in Ferrara, through the highly personal influence of Milanese artists such as Bernardino Butinone (Treviglio, 1450 - 1507) and Giovanni Antonio Piatti (Milan, 1447 or 1448 - Cremona, 1480). A sculptor, Piatti had also worked in Cremona on the marble plaques for the Arch of the Persian Martyrs in San Lorenzo (completed in 1482 by Amadeo and partially reassembled in 1820 in the two pulpits of Cremona Cathedral): the figures featured on these plaques could easily take the place of the figures in our painting, without altering the style or composition, in some cases being almost superimposable. The preciousness of the colors and certain elements, reminiscent of miniatures, the originality of the architectural details, the clear forms of the figures and the general exuberance of the composition make this panel a rare example of one of the most fascinating moments of the Renaissance in Northern Italy, and of Cicognara as a painter who was certainly unconventional. Stylistic reasons, dimensions, subject matter and strong physiognomic similarities between the figures all suggest that our panel may form the central part of a predella whose other elements are preserved in Boston (Saint Lucy and her Mother Praying before the Tomb of Saint Agatha, Isabelle Stewart Gardner Museum, as follower of Cosmè Tura, 43 x 32 cm) and Florence (Two Angels Watching the Body of Saint Lucy, The Harvard Center for Italian Renaissance Studies, Villa I Tatti, as Antonio Cicognara, 38 x 27 cm). We would like to thank Professor Michele Danieli and Professor Marco Tanzi for confirming the attribution of our painting to Antonio Cicognara on the basis of photographs. Reference bibliography: M. Tanzi, in Pittura a Cremona dal Romanico al Settecento, Milano, 1990, p. 239. M. Tanzi, Antonio Cicognara. Section of an altarpiece, in The Bernard and Mary Berenson Collection of European Paintings at I Tatti, 2015, p. 199 - 202, n. 23. H: 43 x W: 71 cm