Lot 1551 Dα

Although he was born in Capodistria in Veneto and taught in Venice by Antonio Zanchi and Joseph Heintz, Francesco Trevisani was considered a thoroughly Roman artist. He moved to this city around 1678 and rose to become one of its leading artists following the death of Maratta. His patrons included Pope Clemens XI, Cardinal Flavio Chigi, Marchese Pallavicini and Cardinal Colonna. His main client in Germany was Lothar Franz von Schönborn, who had over 20 paintings sent to Pommersfelden up until 1718. In 1709, Cardinal Ottoboni sent two of Trevisani's works to the King of France, and the works are now kept in the Louvre. One of these pieces is the famous “Infant Jesus Sleeping”, in which the Virgin is very similar to the present canvas. The work in the Louvre is dated to 1706, and thus a similar date is proposed for the present image. The fine chiaroscuro effects used to emphasise the figure's bodies are typical of this phase in Trevisani's career, as his later works utilised a lighter palette. Alongside his commissions for large-scale altarpieces, the artist also created many such works for private meditation. He is also considered the inventor of the pastoral devotional image, of which his “Rest on the Flight into Egypt” in Dresden is an excellent and typical example.