Lot 2106 D α

Dario Succi assigns the present, previously unpublished work to Cignaroli's later phase. The majestic scene depicts the Holy Family protected by the light of the trinity, which softly illuminates the painting's forms and colours. The bold draughtsmanship, balanced composition, and solidly modelled figures in this work all testify to the influence of the Roman and Bolognese classical tradition. However, the work's architectural setting alludes to even earlier prototypes, namely the Venetian paintings of the late Renaissance, especially the works of Paolo Veronese.

Cignaroli bases his composition on an earlier altarpiece which he painted for the orphanage of San Carlo all casa di Dio (dated 1751). This piece shows a similar trinity group that varies only slightly from the present work. The clear and airy colours in the painting are generally reminiscent of this artist's works from the 1750s, a period in which he had achieved full artistic maturity.

Giambettino Cignaroli became director of the Academy in Verona in 1764 and was among the most important artists of the Veronese settecento. Although he spent his entire life and career in his home town of Verona, his works were sought after among rulers and dignitaries throughout Europe and could be found in the collections of Louis XV, the Russian politician and collector Alexander Sergeyevich Stroganov, and the Habsburg Emperor Joseph II, who spent many years attempting to attract Cignaroli to the Viennese court, ultimately without success.