Annibale Carracci, 1560 Bologna – 1609 Rom, zugeschrieben
DOUBLE PORTRAIT OF LAUGHING BOYS Oil on paper on cardboard. 16.5 x 21.5 cm. Accompanied by an expertise by Federico Giannini, Pianella, and Claudio Strinati dated July 15, 2015, each in copy. Annibale Carracci was the most admired painter of his time and a decisive force in the development of the Baroque style. Together with his cousin Ludovico (1555-1619) and his older brother Agostino (1557-1602) - both outstanding artists - Annibale set out to transform Italian painting. The Carracci rejected the artificiality of Mannerist painting and saw themselves as heirs to a great artistic tradition. They consciously positioned themselves in the history of northern Italian painting and advocated a return to nature in conjunction with the study of the great northern Italian painters of the Renaissance, in particular Correggio, Titian, Tintoretto and Veronese. Her altarpieces and secular fresco cycles in Bologna re-emphasized the northern Italian emphasis on color, light and the study of nature, but with a new focus on emotional communication. Their success led to Annibale being invited to Rome in 1595 to work for the powerful Farnese family, while Ludovico remained in Bologna to lead the academy they had founded. Through the next generation of painters - Francesco Albani, Domenichino, Guido Reni, Giovanni Lanfranco and Guercino - Bolognese painting became the dominant force in 17th century art. In Rome, Annibale's painting was transformed by his direct encounter with classical antiquity and the art of Michelangelo and Raphael. Individual scenes from ancient mythology are surrounded by an elaborate illusionistic frame with fake statues, in front of which sit muscular naked figures, seemingly illuminated by the actual windows, as in the ceiling of the Farnese Gallery. The corners open up to painted views of the sky. When the ceiling was unveiled in 1600, it was immediately recognized as equal to any work of the past. By combining northern Italian naturalism with the idealism of Roman painting, Annibale created the foundation of Baroque art. His only challenger in Rome was Caravaggio, whose relationship with the past was combative rather than assimilative. Moreover, Caravaggio's art was unsuited to large compositions and fresco cycles, and by 1630 Caravaggist painting was in decline, while Annibale's art was being studied by a new generation of artists: Rubens, Poussin and Bernini were deeply indebted to Annibale. Both in his extensive corpus of drawings and in paintings held in museums and important private collections worldwide, Annibale Carracci explored the extremes of facial expression in the people around him. In fact, the term for the exaggeration of the characteristic features of the human face for amusement or moral criticism, caricatura, is often attributed specifically to Annibale Carracci. The word comes from the Italian "caricare", meaning "to load" or "to change", and seems to have first appeared in print in 1647. None of Annibale's caricatures can be attributed to an identifiable person. This type of work probably belongs to the early 1580s, around the time of the founding of the Accademia degli Incamminati. During this period, Annibale produced numerous heads in red chalk as well as in color, sometimes several on one sheet or canvas. The painted heads, like these, appear as pure studies of faces, while others include essential aspects of larger genre scenes. In both cases, the faces have many of the same qualities as in the present work: they are vaguely heart-shaped (he seems to have based the form on his own face, as is evident from the many surviving youthful self-portraits or quasi-self-portraits), have high foreheads and are very toothy. The teeth are prominent, irregularly spaced and very angular due to excessive wear and poor occlusion, factors indicative of coarse diet and poor oral hygiene. There are many comparable examples, including: "Laughing Fool" c. 1583/84 in the Galleria Borghese, Rome; and "Laughing Youth" in the Gazzoni Collection, Bologna, which also has the same feature of stretched flesh on the side of the young man's mouth seen in the present work, as well as the swollen eyes that appear to sit too high in the skull. Although these are small works, the spontaneity is exceptionally modern and anticipates the portraits of Bernini and Velázquez fifty years later. Carracci's interest in caricatures is well known, but here he tries to make the
Annibale Carracci, 1560 Bologna – 1609 Rom, zugeschrieben
1. Auction
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1, of the German Copyright Act (UrhG) when selling originals of a work of fine arts
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foregoing Terms and Conditions.
11. Collection
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successful bidder in accordance with par. 7. of these Terms and Conditions, for the hammer
price at the Auction House’s own expense for 2 weeks after acceptance of the bid. The said
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up to the present time.
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the agreed quality as defined by section 434, sub-section 1, clause 1 BGB, even if the Auction
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opinion of the Auction House, it significantly distracts from the overall visual impression of the
item. In this respect, the absence of references to repairs, additions, restorations, removal
of frames, damage, etc., or other measures taken on the auction item, does not imply that
an auction item is in poor condition from an objective point of view. Each bidder may view
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Terms and Conditions.
13. Liability
13.1. All information provided in the catalogue or in the corresponding internet presentation
is based on scientific findings published or otherwise publically accessible until the time of
the auction and on the information provided by the consignor. Such information is not part
of the agreed quality of the items and does not include any guarantees in a legal sense. The
Auction House reserves the right to correct any catalogue information about the items or to
withdraw any items. The correction of descriptions or the withdrawal of any items (“withdrawal”)
shall be effected by means of a written notice at the location of the auction and orally,
immediately before the auction, by the auctioneer authorised to carry out the auction. Such
corrected information shall replace the catalogue description.
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in quality are excluded if the Auction House has observed any contract-typical and reasonable
due diligence obligations when drafting the catalogue description depending on the item’s
value. In this respect, any other findings of the successful bidder shall be considered in favour
of the Auction House if the successful bidder has not informed the Auction House about these
findings. For a period of 12 months after acceptance of the bid, the Auction House, however,
undertakes to refund the premium according to par. 8 in cases of proven unauthenticity.
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liability for an injury to life, body or health shall remain unaffected in each case.
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be responsible for intentional or grossly negligent actions by such persons or by itself in
selecting and supervising such persons, with the exception of liability for breach of cardinal
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14. Subsequent sale
Items that have not been sold may be acquired by way of subsequent sale. Potential buyers
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telephone, via internet or in writing. The provisions of these Terms and Conditions shall also
apply mutatis mutandis to the said offer, its acceptance by the Auction House and the contract
concluded thereby.
15. Final Provisions
15.1. These Terms and Conditions of Auction regulate all relationships between the successful
bidder and the Auction House as well as between the consignor and the successful bidder.
Additional conditions may apply in case of a long distance selling contract
15.2. The law of the Federal Republic of Germany shall be exclusively applicable. These Terms
and Conditions shall not be subject to the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International
Sale of Goods (CISG).
15.3. The official language for negotiations and of the contract shall be German. Any descriptions
and documents, including these Terms and Conditions of Auction, drawn up in other languages
are solely of an informal nature and are not authoritative.
15.4. Munich shall be the place of fulfilment.
15.5. Munich shall be the exclusive place of jurisdiction for all claims arising from the contractual
relationship between parties, if the successful bidder is a trader as defined by the
statutory provisions or a legal person under public law. The same place of jurisdiction shall
apply if the successful bidder does not have a general domestic place of jurisdiction, if he or
she has relocated his or her principal place of business or legal or habitual residence abroad
after conclusion of the contract or if his or her principal place of business or habitual residence
is unknown upon commencement of the action. In all other cases, the court in whose district
the successful bidder has his or her principal place of business or legal residence or, in the
absence thereof, habitual residence upon commencement of the action shall be competent
for all claims of the Auction House arising from the contractual relationship with the successful
bidder.
15.6. Should one or more of these provisions be or become invalid or unenforceable, this shall
not affect the enforceability of the remaining provisions. The invalid/unenforceable provision
shall be replaced by common consent of both parties by a valid and enforceable provision that
corresponds as closely as possible to the original intended purpose of the provision.
