Christ in Glory with Saints and Odoardo Farnese or 'Christ in Glory with Odoardo Farnese and Saints Peter, John the Evangelist, Mary Magdalene, Hermenegild and Edward is a painting by Annibale Carracci. [1] Placed in the Eremo di Camldoli either early in its life or straight after its creation, at the end of the 17th century Ferdinando II de' Medici moved it to the Galleria Palatina in Florence, where it still hangs. [2]
It was produced in Rome for Odoardo Farnese, with a notable preparatory drawing for the upper part of the painting is now in the Palais des Beaux-Arts, Lille. [3] In the background Annibale places a view of the St Peter's Basilica, then still incomplete and without the dome of the Cappella Clementina, probably as a prophecy of England's return to Catholicism. Odoardo's praying pose is argued to be an influence on that Bernini's sculpture of cardinal Roberto Bellarmino. [4]
Its dating is the object of much critical dispute, depending on various interpretations of its significance.
Some argue it was an expression of Odoardo's campaign to be granted the throne of England, then in the balance as Elizabeth I approached her death without a named successor. This was based on his descent from the House of Lancaster via his mother Maria d'Aviz of Portugal [2] - it is Odoardo's namesake the English king Edward the Confessor who is shown presenting him to Christ. [2] In the centre background is a figure on all fours, probably referring to a passage in Edward the Confessor's hagiography in which he healed a cripple and thus became the patron saint of cripples. [5]
Odoardo's father Alexander Farnese was nephew to Philip II of Spain, who had a particular devotion to another royal saint, Hermenegild, shown in the bottom register opposite Edward. His presence alludes to the House of Farnese's family links to the House of Habsburg, further legitimising Odoardo's dynastic claims via Philip, who had been married to Elizabeth's half-sister Mary I. [2] Supporters of this theory argue that the work must pre-date the final demise of Odoardo's campaign in the early 1600s and that - combined with its style - this places it between 1597 and 1598. [2]
Another theory holds that the work was produced to celebrate Odoardo's appointment as "cardinal protector" of the kingdom of England in February 1600, which would place it in or just after that year. [6]
The painting's original destination is also heavily debated. It was definitely at Odoardo's chapel at the Eremo di Camaldoli at some point, but it is unclear whether this had always been the work's intended destination or whether it was only placed there later.
For those arguing that the work relates to Odoardo's royal ambitions, the work was sent to Camaldoli some time after its completion, probably after his hopes of becoming King of England had been dashed, making it embarrassing to still have the painting on display in Rome and preferable to hide it away off the beaten track. [2] Those backing the cardinal protector theory, however, argue from the presence of Mary Magdalene to the left of Ermenegild that it was commissioned expressly for the Farnese chapel at the Eremo - she was that chapel's patron saint. [6]
The work's creation seems to be linked to the making of a chasuble and altar frontal (both now in the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo in Florence, but originally in the Eremo di Camaldoli. [7] Both the chasuble and frontal include the Farnese symbols of lilies and unicorns and were previously misattributed to Francesco Salviati or Perin del Vaga, artists who had worked for the family decades earlier. [7] Annibale not only produced the drawings for the two works but also painted them onto the fabric, rather than the more usual route of giving his drawings to embroiderers. [8] Stylistic similarities to the painting and their inclusion of Edward and Ermenegild confirm Annibale's authorship and argue for them and the painting being part of a single unified commission for the Eremo. [7]
The composition of the upper part of the painting with Christ between saint Peter and saint John is based on Giulio Romano's Deesis with Saint Paul and Saint Catherine (Galleria nazionale di Parma), which itself derived from a drawing by Raphael. Long misattributed to Raphael himself, Romano's painting would have been seen in Parma by Annibale. [5]
The work is also strongly influenced by Correggio, which is argued to support the 1597-1598 dating, since at that time that influence had not yet been eclipsed by Roman artists in Annibale's work. However, some art historians argue that he did not totally abandon influences from Correggio and northern Italy in general after that date and so the work can still be dated slightly later. [6] Some even argue that Mary Magdalene's face is based on that of a classical statue of Niobe from the famous Niobids group owned by the Medici in Rome, where Annibale probably saw them, before later being moved to the Uffizi [9] - a drawing of that statue in his hand survives and features in several of his other paintings.
Agostino Carracci was an Italian painter, printmaker, tapestry designer, and art teacher. He was, together with his brother, Annibale Carracci, and cousin, Ludovico Carracci, one of the founders of the Accademia degli Incamminati in Bologna. This teaching academy promoted the Carracci emphasized drawing from life. It promoted progressive tendencies in art and was a reaction to the Mannerist distortion of anatomy and space. The academy helped propel painters of the School of Bologna to prominence.
Annibale Carracci was an Italian painter and instructor, active in Bologna and later in Rome. Along with his brother and cousin, Annibale was one of the progenitors, if not founders of a leading strand of the Baroque style, borrowing from styles from both north and south of their native city, and aspiring for a return to classical monumentality, but adding a more vital dynamism. Painters working under Annibale at the gallery of the Palazzo Farnese would be highly influential in Roman painting for decades.
Francesco Albani or Albano was an Italian Baroque painter who was active in Bologna (1591–1600), Rome (1600–1609), Bologna (1609), Viterbo (1609–1610), Bologna (1610), Rome (1610–1617), Bologna (1618–1660), Mantova (1621–1622), Roma (1623–1625) and Florence (1633).
Odoardo Farnese was an Italian nobleman, the second son of Alessandro Farnese, Duke of Parma and Maria of Portugal, known for his patronage of the arts. He became a Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church in 1591, and briefly acted as regent of the Duchy of Parma and Piacenza for his nephew Odoardo from 1622 to 1626.
Antonio Marziale Carracci was an Italian painter. He was the natural son of Agostino Carracci.
Giovanni Lanfranco was an Italian painter of the Baroque period.
The Galleria nazionale di Parma is an art gallery in Parma, northern Italy.
Fishing is a painting by Italian artist Annibale Carracci, painted before 1595 and given to Louis XIV by Prince Camillo Pamphili in 1665. It is currently held and exhibited at the Louvre in Paris.
Hunting is a painting by Italian artist Annibale Carracci, painted before 1595 and given to Louis XIV by Prince Camillo Pamphili in 1665. It is currently held and exhibited at the Louvre in Paris.
The Carracci were a Bolognese family of artists that played an instrumental role in bringing forth the Baroque style in painting. Brothers Annibale (1560–1609) and Agostino (1557–1602) along with their cousin Ludovico (1555–1619) worked collaboratively. The Carracci family left their legacy in art theory by starting a school for artists in 1582. The school was called the Accademia degli Incamminati, and its main focus was to oppose and challenge Mannerist artistic practices and principles in order to create a renewed art of naturalism and expressive persuasion.
Giovanni Battista Agucchi was an Italian churchman, Papal diplomat and writer on art theory. He was the nephew and brother of cardinals, and might have been one himself if he had lived longer. He served as secretary to the Papal Secretary of State, then the Pope himself, on whose death Agucchi was made a titular bishop and appointed as nuncio to Venice. He was an important figure in Roman art circles when he was in the city, promoting fellow-Bolognese artists, and was close to Domenichino in particular. As an art theorist he was rediscovered in the 20th century as having first expressed many of the views better known from the writings of Gian Pietro Bellori a generation later. He was also an amateur astronomer who corresponded with Galileo.
The Vision of Saint Eustace is a painting by Annibale Carracci, showing saint Eustace and his vision of a crucifix between the horns of a stag whilst out hunting. The saint is set in one of the first landscapes by either of the Carracci brothers, showing how he was influenced by Venetian landscape painting until about 1598 after a stay in the city in 1587 and 1588. Specific influences include Titian's Penitent Saint Jerome (Louvre) and the naturalism of Jacopo Bassano. Critics argue the composition is based on two prints by Cornelis Cort, a Flemish printer - Penitent St Jerome and The Vision of Saint Eustace. These prints were in turn based on ideas by the Lombard painter Girolamo Muziano, who was also influenced by Venetian models. The dogs and some other details are drawn from Saint Eustace, an engraving by Albrecht Dürer of the same subject.
Pietà is a c. 1600 oil on canvas painting by Annibale Carracci, the earliest surviving work by him on the subject, which was commissioned by Odoardo Farnese. It moved from Rome to Parma to Naples as part of the Farnese collection and is now in the National Museum of Capodimonte in Naples. It is one of many 16th century Bolognese paintings dedicated to the theme of the Pietà, and it is counted among Carracci's masterpieces.
Christ and the Samaritan Woman or The Woman at the Well is a 1593-1594 oil on canvas painting by Annibale Carracci, painted as part of the same scheme as the Palazzo Sampieri frescoes. Several years later he also produced a much smaller autograph copy with variations, now in the Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest.
Christ Crowned with Thorns or Christ Mocked is a 1598-1600 oil on canvas painting by Annibale Carracci, now at the Pinacoteca Nazionale di Bologna.
The Death of Saint Francis is the probable subject of two lost paintings by Annibale Carracci, both possibly dating to 1597-1598. One is known solely through a print and the other through a series of painted copies.
Pietà with Saints Clare, Francis and Mary Magdalene is a 1585 oil on canvas painting by Annibale Carracci, now in the Galleria nazionale di Parma.
Saint Margaret of Antioch is a 1599 oil on canvas painting by Annibale Carracci, showing Margaret of Antioch. It hangs in Santa Caterina dei Funari church in Rome.
Portable Altarpiece with Pietà and Saints is a 1603 oil on canvas painting by Annibale Carracci in a gold, ebony and copper frame. It is now in the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica in Rome.
The Dead Christ Mourned is an oil painting on canvas of c. 1604 by Annibale Carracci. It was in the Orleans Collection before arriving in Great Britain in 1798. In 1913 it was donated to the National Gallery, London, which describes it as "perhaps the most poignant image in [its] collection of the pietà – the lamentation over the dead Christ following his crucifixion – and one of the greatest expressions of grief in Baroque art".