The Holy Family with Jesus eating a cherry

Possibly intended for a fresco, this cartoon was probably never used (there is no trace of incision or pricking) and there is no known finished work of the composition. The drawing shows the influence of Annibale Carracci (who treated the same subject in a celebrated canvas now in the Louvre) and Correggio, both artists who were an important source of inspiration for Cignani. The type of the Virgin is close to other Madonnas by Cignani, for instance, his painting in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna (S. Vitelli Buscaroli,Carlo Cignani (1628-1719), Bologna, 1953, pl. 13). The Christ Child can especially be compared to putti painted S. Michela in Bosco (op. cit., pls. 8-11). Cignani did produce many cartoons for his large scale works, like these today at Hampton Court for his frescoes in the Palazzo del Giardino, Parma (see J. Bentini and A. Mazza, Disegni emiliani del sei-settecento. I grandi cicli di affreschi, Modena, 1990, pp. 154-167).

The cherries are symbols of the fruit of Heaven and indicate that the Madonna and Christ Child are in heaven - exempt from all sin.

We thank Marco Riccomini for his help in cataloguing this lot.