Matteo Rosselli - The Holy Family with John the Baptist - image-1

Lot 1441 Dα

Matteo Rosselli - The Holy Family with John the Baptist

Auction 1057 - overview Cologne
14.11.2015, 11:00 - Old Master and 19th Century Paintings and Drawings
Estimate: 30.000 € - 40.000 €

Matteo Rosselli

The Holy Family with John the Baptist

Oil on canvas (relined). 102 x 81.5 cm.

The present work is an important early example of the work of the Florentine painter Matteo Rosselli. He uses the traditional Florentine cinquecento iconography to depict this scene: The Virgin faces the viewer, Saint Joseph stands in the background and the Christ Child turns to face the adoring John the Baptist.
Rosselli was one of the leading painters in this city in the early 17th century. He received numerous important commissions and was employed by the Medici and Corsini families among others. Rosselli painted the frescoes in the Palazzo Pitti, the Villa di Poggio Imperiale and Casino Mediceo di San Marco and created numerous important altarpieces and decorative works for the abbey of Santissima Annunziata and many churches in Florence, Volterra and Pistoia. A great nephew of Michelangelo also entrusted him with the frescoes for the Casa Buonarroti, which show scenes from the life of the famous artist.
Matteo Rosselli's many pupils included Baldassare Franceschini (il Volterrano), Lorenzo Lippi, Francesco Furini and Jacopo Vignali, testifying to the influence he had on the following generation of artists.

Certificate

Carlo Volpe, Bologna (o.D.).

Literature

Giuseppe Cantelli: Repertorio della pittura fiorentina del seicento, Fiesole 1983, p. 131, illus. 678. - Giuseppe Cantelli: Repertorio della pittura fiorentina del Seicento. Aggiornamenta, Pontedera 2009, p. 176, illus. LXIX. - Sandro Bellesi: Catalogo dei pittori fiorentini del '600 e '700. Biografie e opere, 3 vols., Florence 2009, vol. 1, p. 240, illus. 6. - Francesca Baldassari: La pittura del Seicento a Firenze. Indice degli artisti e delle loro opere, Milan 2009, p. 648.