Onorio Marinari (ITALIAN 1627 - 1715), THE MADONNA AND CHILD

Lot description

ONORIO MARINARI (ITALIAN 1627 - 1715)THE MADONNA AND CHILD Oil on canvas, framed oval87 x 71cm (34¼ x 27¾ in.)Provenance: Mr. Nicholson, Rome, 1840, April (according to inscription on verso)This recently discovered painting exemplifies the stylistic characteristics of seventeenth-century Florentine art. Set within a sculpted oval frame, the tender composition features the youthful Madonna and Child gazing directly at the viewer-an intimate and engaging motif that the artist replicated multiple times with variations in colour and lighting. A notable example of this theme was sold at Christie's, London (26 November - 17 December 2020, lot 210) for £50,000.Unlike the version sold at Christie's, the present work is distinguished by a luminous, almost lunar light that contrasts strikingly with deeper shadowed tones, evoking the influence of the artist's master and cousin, Carlo Dolci (1616-1686). Following Dolci's death in 1686, Onorio assumed an increasingly prominent role at the Medici court, producing a significant body of work. Remarkably, he remained active well into old age, as evidenced by the frescoes he executed in the Palazzo Capponi during his eighties.We are grateful to Francesca Baldassari for confirming the attribution on the basis of photographs.