Bartolomeo Schedoni and The Holy Family with The Young St.John The Baptist

Bartolomeo Schedoni, born in 1578 and died on 23 December 1615

Simone Pignoni and Judith with the Head of Holofernes

Simone Pignoni, born on 17 April 1611 and died on 16 December 1698

Anthony van Dyck and Dorothy, Lady Dacre

Anthony van Dyck, born on 22 March 1599 and died on 9 December 1641

Jan Baptist Weenix and Figures Among Ruins

Jan Baptist Weenix, born in 1621 and died on 19 November 1663

Due to the NaNoWriMo Project, I will continue to post a painting a day for the month of November but I won't have time to write. I may add text at a later date. I hope you will still visit to see the daily painting. 

Pierre Mignard and The Virgin of the Grapes

Pierre Mignard, born on 17 November 1612

Due to the NaNoWriMo Project, I will continue to post a painting a day for the month of November but I won't have time to write. I may add text at a later date. I hope you will still visit to see the daily painting. 

Guido Reni and Girl With A Rose

'Girl With a Rose' (no date found) by Guido Reni; Museo del Prado, Madrid

Guido Reni, born on 4 November 1575 and died on 18 August 1642

Due to the NaNoWriMo Project, I will continue to post a painting a day for the month of November but I won't have time to write. I may add text at a later date. I hope you will still visit to see the daily painting. 

Domenichino and The Cumaean Sibyl

 'The Cumaean Sibyl' (c. 1610) by Domenichino;
Pinacoteca Capitolina, Rome 

I'm happy to do a post on Italian painter Domenichino, born on October 21, 1581, as Domenico Zampieri because I get to post the painting 'The Cumaean Sibyl', which I like very much. Domenichino was a leading Baroque painter and worked with other Bolognese artists under Annibale Carracci. He painted frescoes on commission and paintings. The Last Communion of St. Jerome, dated 1614, is one of the period's greatest paintings and is holding its own with wonderful artworks like Transfiguration by Raphael. Today's painting of The Cumaean Sibyl is the version that is at the Pinacoteca Capitolina in Rome and belongs to the Albergati Collection. I wasn't aware before doing this post but apparently there are four known versions of Sibyl. All Sibyls have similar exotic turbans and rich fabrics. There is one at the Galleria Borghese, Rome, dated 1616-17, which is very similar to the one at the Pinacoteca. The Sibyl that is in the Wallace Collection in London is called The Persian Sibyl and is slightly different. Then there is a fourth Sibyl which Domenichino had painted for the Ratta family in Bologna but I couldn't find an image for that one. It must be very similar to the one at Pinacoteca Capitolina. Actually, while doing this post, I got a bit confused and stopped looking for the Ratta's Sibyl. Anyway, these are the sources for my little research on the different versions (click here and here). For further reading on The Cumaean Sibyl, click here.

Giovanni Maria Viani and The Penitent Magdalene

'The Penitent Magdalene' (no date found) by Giovanni Maria Viani; Private Collection?

Giovanni Maria Viani, born on 11 September 1636 in Bologna, was the last painter on my list for today to check for paintings. I had already dismissed all the other options and when I read that Viani was an Italian Baroque painter, I almost knew that I couldn't go wrong. I thought, maybe there is a depiction of The Penitent Magdalene, and voilà, there is. Together with Lorenzo Pasinelli, Viani was a pupil of Flaminio Torre. The first works to be attributed to Viani date from 1677. I couldn't find a date nor location for today's painting but I found that it recently sold at Sotheby's, click here. It was part of a private collection and it changed hands to an anonymous buyer so it's likely to be in private hands still. It sold for 37,250 GPB. There's a catalogue note included which states that this painting has been more recently attributed to Viani because it was formerly believed to be a work by Gian Gioseffo dal Sole. Well, whoever painted this, I think it is beautiful. I particularly love the depiction of the folded hands. For further reading, click here.

Lorenzo Pasinelli and Erythraean Sibyl

'Erythraean Sibyl' (no date found ) by Lorenzo Pasinelli; Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica, Rome

Today's painter was quickly chosen but it took me somewhat longer to choose the painting because there are many that I like. The artist is Lorenzo Pasinelli, an Italian Baroque painter, born on September 4, 1629. He trained with Guido Reni's most talented pupil Simone Cantarini and after Cantarini's sudden death in 1648 he continued his studies with Cantarini's pupil Flaminio Torre. With the latter he worked briefly and unsatisfactory and there remains some difficulty in attributing the paintings of this period to his name. To read more about Erythraean Sibyl (because I did not remember who she was, despite my classical high school background), please click on the link. If you want to see more of Pasinelli's paintings, visit his Wikipedia page and there's also more here and here and here.

Giovanni Battista Salvi da Sassoferrato and The Virgin in Prayer

'The Virgin in Prayer' (1640-50) by Giovanni Battista Salvi da Sassoferrato;
National Gallery, London

I have already mentioned in my post on Velázquez last Monday that I've been to the wonderful Galleria Doria Pamphilj. There was a lot of Italian art and one of the paintings being displayed was 'The Virgin in Prayer' by Italian Baroque painter Giovanni Battista Salvi da Sassoferrato, born on August 25, 1609, and died on August 8, 1685. This particular depiction of the Virgin holding hands in prayer is one of at least four paintings made by the artist. I couldn't find an image of the version I've seen in Rome on the internet other than the one that you will see when you click here. But there are letters on that image so I chose to post the version that's at the National Gallery in London. When you compare the two versions, you see that they are very similar. The Virgin in the London version has her eyes cast downward more than the Virgin in the Rome version. In real life the painting is very beautiful, very refined and with beautiful colours. There is so much art hanging on the walls of the galleria that it is a shame that so many great paintings don't have their own space. Some hang too high, some have terrible lighting. They deserve to be in a highlighted space to get the full attention and appreciation. Salvi specialised in religious works painted in a sweet style. There's little information on his life and in the 18th century it was even generally believed that he was a contemporary of Raphael. His work must have been in demand because many of his paintings carry different (and very similar) versions. They must have been in private hands though since not many are to be seen in churches or museums.

Diego Velázquez and The Needlewoman

'The Needlewoman' (1635-43) by Diego Velázquez; National Gallery of Art,
Washington D.C.

Diego Velázquez, baptised June 6, 1599 and died on August 6, 1660, was one of the greatest and most famous Spanish painters of the 17th century. Most of his work I don't really like. He was a court painter so painted mainly portraits of the Spanish royal family and of the members of the court. One of his most famous works is Las Meninas ('Maids of Honour') which I have seen in Museo del Prado in Madrid. I don't really like that one although it sort of grows on you because it is so famous and often being used in art courses. I have very recently seen another painting by Velázquez, here in Rome where I am on a holiday now. Last Saturday we went to the wonderful Galleria Doria Pamphilj where I have seen beautiful paintings by Italian masters. But the collection's masterpiece is Velázquez's Portrait of Pope Innocent X. It is hanging in a small separate room to maximise its grandeur and beauty. I have to say that I have seen reproductions of this painting and I wasn't too impressed but seeing it in real life definitely made a difference. The painting I have chosen for today is one that I do like, The Needlewoman, and I actually had never seen it before and would not have attributed it to Velázquez. The portrait is unfinished but I wouldn't have guessed if I hadn't read it. It looks quite finished to me. I just read the whole Wikipedia page on the painting and I hadn't really been wrong in thinking that it was not a typical Velázquez painting. It is said that Velázquez started the painting but that it was completed by his son-in-law, Juan Bautista Martinez del Mazo. If you want to know more about the artist Velázquez himself, click on the first link above.

Francesco Maffei and Madonna and Child with Saints Dominic and Catherine

Due to my stay and volunteer work in Peru for most of June and July, I won't have time to write but I will continue to post a painting a day. I may add text upon returning to Amsterdam. I hope you will still visit to see the daily painting. 

Carlo Dolci and The Angel of Annunciation

'The Angel of Annunciation' (1653-55) by Carlo Dolci; Musée du Louvre, Paris

It didn't take me long to select this painting by Italian artist Carlo Dolci, born on 25 May 1616, for today because I think it's a lovely portrait with very beautiful colours. I love the red hair and the deep blue in the clothing. Dolci was the leading painter in mid-17th century Florence and skilled in portrait painting. His work is characterised by intense religiosity and sophisticated style. By the 1640s, Dolci had gained much popularity and his work was in such demand that he often repeated his compositions. After the late 1640s, his troubled personality became more evident in his work. I want to show you two more examples of his portraits that I find really beautiful. Please click here and here. 

Leonello Spada and Saint Jerome

'Saint Jerome' (1610s) by Leonello Spada; Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica, Rome

To continue my quest for Italian painters unknown to me, for today's post I have chosen the Baroque artist Leonello Spada, born in 1576 and died on 17 May 1622, a follower of Caravaggio. He was specialised in Quadratura painting, a term introduced in the 17th century and associated with Italian ceiling painting. He painted ceilings in Bolognese churches and palaces, but unfortunately most of them are lost. Today's painting is a depiction of Saint Jerome and is very different from his other work. I like it because it reminds me very much of the work of Spanish artist José de Ribera. In fact, this painting was attributed to Ribera until 1997. It entered the National Gallery in 1952 as a work of (the school of) Ribera. This suggested that Spada had met the Spanish artist during his visit to Rome when Ribera was also staying there. But the dates don't match. Spada had been there in 1608 and 1609 whereas Ribera spent time there later, from 1613 onward. This opened a new debate on the chronology of Spada's work. Anyway, I think the anatomical features in this painting are superb.

Giuseppe Maria Crespi and The Kitchenmaid

'The Kitchenmaid' (after 1712) by Giuseppe Maria Crespi; Uffizi Gallery, Florence

I had a small list of painters for today to choose from, none of whom I had ever heard of. I googled the images of their paintings and when I saw this one by the Italian artist Giuseppe Maria Crespi, I stopped looking. Then I read that the English Wikipedia page names the 14th of March as his date of birth, but the German one says the 16th of March. Luckily I found another site that gives 16 March 1665 as his date of birth, so that is good enough for me. Crespi was a Baroque painter and most famous for his genre paintings. Until the 17th century, Italian painters had mainly concentrated on painting religious, mythological or historical scenes, whereas e.g. Dutch painters had already a strong tradition in depicting the everyday life. This is such a painting, a domestic scene from everyday life. I love the use of light in this work. Actually, I love the whole scene because I like depictions of solitary activities. This scene of the maid doing her chores seems so peaceful to me.

'Christ and The Woman of Samaria' by Guercino

'Christ and The Woman of Samaria' (c.1620) by Guercino; Kimbell Art Museum of Fort Worth, Texas 

Guercino, born as Giovanni Francesco Barbieri on February 8, 1591, was an Italian Baroque painter who was extremely productive during his creative years. I don't know him but I'm happy to use him for this post. His work reminds me very much of Caravaggio and also of El Greco. I like the deep and warm colours in this particular painting that dates from his early and most desirable period. Prior to its purchase by the Kimbell Art Museum in 2010, 'Christ and the woman of Samaria' had never been exhibited. Guernico received praise for the emotional power he displayed in his compositions. Besides paintings he also made many drawings.