73 - Annibale Carracci (Bologna 1560 – Rome 1609), attributed

Annibale Carracci (Bologna 1560 – Rome 1609), attributed The Death of St. Francis Oil on canvas 47 x 33.5 cm The work is based on a lost original by Annibale Carracci, known through several surviving copies, such as those held at the Sheffield Museum and in the chapel of the University of Oxford. The painting *Vision of St. Francis*, housed at the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa, appears very similar; there, as in this case, the compositional scheme, color palette, and post-conciliar pathos closely resemble the works of his cousin Ludovico. Given the objective quality of the work, it is proposed—with all due caution—that it be attributed to the Bolognese master. After his early training—about which little is known—Annibale, together with his brother Agostino and his cousin Ludovico, founded the Accademia degli Incamminati, a workshop and school that ranks among the most significant in the history of painting. In his early period, he produced paintings influenced by Flemish-style realism, such as *The Butcher’s Shop* and *The Bean Eater*. This was followed by two stays in the Emilia region, first in Parma and then in Reggio Emilia, where, in addition to developing his own style, he benefited from the teachings of Correggio and Veronese. He later moved to Rome at the invitation of Cardinal Odoardo Farnese. During these early years in Rome, he created a cycle of frescoes on the theme of the “Loves of the Gods” in the Palace Gallery, where his full mastery emerged, thanks to the sophisticated interweaving of Michelangelo’s expressive and sculptural power with Raphael’s classical grace and harmony. Years of intense work and great acclaim followed; in addition to religious commissions, he succeeded in expressing himself at the highest level in both portraits and landscape subjects. With his “Ideal Landscape,” in which he sought a balance between nature and humanity, he was a forerunner of the 17th-century landscape painting of Domenichino, Nicolas Poussin, and Claude Lorrain. Despite the success he achieved, he spent his final years in a state of deep depression; upon his death, he was buried in the Pantheon in Rome, next to Raphael, as per his request. Annibale, together with his brother Agostino and his cousin Ludovico, revolutionized the Italian art of his time and paved the way for the subsequent Baroque period. Thanks to a painterly style with diverse roots, they succeeded in overcoming the theatrical artificiality of Mannerism, developing an expression tending toward mystical abstraction. Through naturalism, religious piety, and the pursuit of ideal beauty, they articulated a language that was both immediately accessible and open to a deeper aesthetic and philosophical interpretation, satisfying at the same time both the dictates of the Counter-Reformation—which required that painting be easily understood in doctrinal and popular terms—and the cultured patrons among the nobility and clergy of the time. Thanks to them, a large group of masters emerged, including: Francesco Albani, Sisto Badalocchio, Domenichino, Giovanni Lanfranco, Guido Reni, Bartolomeo Schedoni, and Lionello Spada, among many others. Annibale Carracci (Bologna 1560 – Rome 1609) attributed to The Death of Saint Francis Oil on canvas 47 x 33.5 cm The painting is based on a lost composition by Annibale Carracci, known through several surviving copies, including those preserved at the Sheffield Museum and in the chapel of the University of Oxford. A particularly close comparison can be made with *The Vision of Saint Francis*, now in the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa, where, as in the present work, the compositional arrangement, color palette, and post-Tridentine pathos recall the works of his cousin Ludovico. Given the evident quality of the painting, its attribution to the Bolognese master is proposed here, albeit with all due caution.