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Lot Essay
This is a newly discovered picture by Jacopo Vignali that was catalogued as from the circle of Gaspard de Crayer when it last appeared on the art market in 1938 (see provenance). The new attribution to Vignali has kindly been proposed by Francesca Baldassari who suggests a date in the early 1630s, on inspection of the original. By this time, Vignali, who had studied under Matteo Roselli, had evolved his own distinctive style characterised by dramatic light effects, rich colour and a particularly poetic and emotional interpretation of his subjects.
Examination of the canvas edges indicates that the oval format is original, which is somewhat unusual for the artist. Given the nature of the subject, one might expect it to have originally formed a set or pair of paintings, akin to Dolci's depictions of the Evangelists, but the present work cannot be linked to any other.
Examination of the canvas edges indicates that the oval format is original, which is somewhat unusual for the artist. Given the nature of the subject, one might expect it to have originally formed a set or pair of paintings, akin to Dolci's depictions of the Evangelists, but the present work cannot be linked to any other.