Carlo Cignani (Forlì 1628 - 1712) workshop of... Lot 4

Carlo Cignani (Forlì 1628 - 1712) workshop of The five senses Oil on canvas 98 x 136 cm The high quality of the work makes it possible to propose it as a work executed within the master's workshop, that is, under his direct vision and without excluding his intervention. There are four versions of this subject believed to be autograph, preserved in the Pallavicini Collection in Rome, Sabaudia Gallery in Turin, Shanks Collection in the USA and in the Sanssouci Palace in Potsdam. Interesting is the note of Dr. Beatrice Buscaroli Fabbri, author of the monograph, who writes (p. 147 of Carlo Cignani frescoes paintings drawings) about the numerous copies found in other museums and collections around the world "It is not possible to determine which versions and parts are autograph: hardly in Cignani's studio, as in the rule of the workshops, can one speak of copy or authentic in an absolute sense. They are works completed by several hands, where in contribution of the master varied from time to time from the execution of the drawing to the final touch." Carlo Cignani's apprenticeship took place with G. B. Cairo, a half-unknown Bolognese painter, and later in Francesco Albani's atelier along with Alessandro Tiarini and Guercino. After his first and successful city commissions we find him in Rome to decorate a gallery in the Farnese casino outside Porta S. Pancrazio, a commission that was never begun and then passed by Cardinal Gerolamo Farnese to Filippo Lauri. In 1665 Cignani returned to Bologna, where he resided until 1684, when he moved to Forlì. During these decades he painted fresco decorations of four overdoors with Apparitions of the Archangel St. Michael in the church of S. Michele in Bosco. This intervention of his is clearly inspired by the soft grace of Correggio's putti, his greatest inspiration, which came to him through his master Francesco Albani who, of all Annibale Carracci's pupils, was probably the one most influenced by Allegri's mythological-pastoral painting. In Cignani's art, in addition to Correggio, the lesson of Guido Reni and his classicist soul can be felt; Carlo's art, in fact, is characterized by a dignified style of figures, gentle and rounded forms, and an elegant compositional calm. By the 1670s his studio was well established and he had several collaborators, among whom the names of Marcantonio Franceschini and Luigi Quaini stand out. In 1683 Cignani undertook the most important work of his career, namely the decoration of the dome of the chapel of the Madonna del Fuoco in Forlì cathedral with the grandiose Assumption of the Virgin, a work that forced him to settle in Romagna. His art lived on beyond his death in Forlì on September 6, 1719, thanks to the excellent painters who came out of his workshop: his son Felice Cignani, Clemente Ruta, Antonio Calza Sante Prunato, Alessandro Marchesini, Ludovico David, Giovan Camillo Sagrestani, Giuseppe Maria Crespi, Francesco Mancini, Federico Bencovich and Ignazio Stern. Carlo Cignani (Forlì 1628 - 1712) workshop of The Five Senses Oil on canvas 98 x 136 cm The high quality of the artwork allows it to be proposed as an artwork performed within the master's workshop, or under his direct vision and without excluding his intervention. There are four versions of this subject believed to be autographed, preserved in the Pallavicini Collection in Rome, the Sabaudia Gallery in Turin, the Shanks Collection in the USA, and in the Sanssouci Palace in Potsdam. The note by Dra. Beatrice Buscaroli Fabbri, author of the monograph, is interesting, as she writes (page 147 of Carlo Cignani affreschi dipinti disegni) about the numerous copies present in other museums and collections in the world "It is not possible to determine which versions and parts are autograph: it is difficult in Cignani's studio, as in the rule of the workshops, to speak of a copy or authenticity in an absolute sense. They are artworks created by several hands, where the master's contribution varied from time to time from the execution of the drawing to the final touch."