Andrea Casali (1705 - 1784) , attributed to Madonna... Lot 314

Andrea Casali (1705 - 1784) , attributed to Madonna and Child (from Guido Reni) Oil on copper 23.7 x 31.5 cm Distinguishing features: on the back of the frame an inscription "4415" (?); on the verso of the copper tape with the author's name ("Andrea Casali") pinned to it Conservation status. Support: 90%. Conservation status. Surface: 80% (retouches, including on the face of the Child and on the drapery) Of Roman origin, Andrea Casali took his first steps in Sebastiano Conca's workshop, managing to enter, after his first public commissions between Rome and Rieti, the prestigious artistic coterie of Cardinal Ottoboni, where he became a pupil of Francesco Trevisani. Casali's fame would lead him to become part of the international scene, producing works for the Royal Palace in Madrid and the Albertina Academy in Turin, and also refining his style with sojourns in Paris and London. Here he had the opportunity to develop genres as diverse as sacred, historical-mythological themes and portraiture. Great was the fortune of the famous and "perfect" iconography of this Madonna Adoring the Child, also known as the "Madonna of Sleep." The subject was originally conceived by Guido Reni, a version of which is known to be preserved in Rome at the Doria Pamphilij Gallery (inv. 288), and later replicated, with variations, numerous times by Sassoferrato (A. Bardelli, card in "Sassoferrato: devout beauty: with drawings from the British Royal Collection," edited by F. Macé de Lépinay, Cinisello Balsamo 2017, pp. 234-235 cat. 53, p. 273). The enormous success and interest in this sacred theme, profound on an existential level and at the same time intimate in its domestic serenity, continued a century after its creation, during the eighteenth century, as the very rare copper in the auction testifies. Massimo Francucci, who has known the work for some time, confirms its attribution to Andrea Casali (communication of September 27, 2023). Of a different opinion is Angela Negro who, having examined the work through a high-definition reproduction, notes its "sure Trevisanesque ascendancy," but disagrees with the attribution (communication of September 26, 2023). We would like to thank Drs. Massimo Francucci and Angela Negro for their valuable support in cataloging the work.