Lot 72: Alessandro Rosi (Florence 1627-1697)

A Female Saint with a putto oil on canvas 251/4 x 19 7/8 in. (64 x 50.5 cm.) PROVENANCE Mrs. Price, Sainfield House, Co. Down and Ringdufferin, and by descent to the present owner. NOTES This picture can be dated to the early activity of Alessandro Rosi, when the artist's work still showed the influence of his master, Cesare Dandini. Characteristic of this period are the bright colours and the pellucid skin painted smoothly over a dark ground. The picture can be compared with the Self Portrait in the Uffizi and a Portrait of a Gentleman dated 1646 (Stiozzi Ridolfi collection, Florence). Later in his career, Rosi's pictures showed a more rapid, abbreviated style comparable to that of Cesare's brother, Pier Dandini. Examples of this are The Madonna of the Rosary and he Martyrdom of Saint Christine, both in the Abbey of Passignano, Val di Pesa. His bright, vivid style is recognisable in the work of his pupil Alessandro Gherardini. We are grateful to Dr. Francesca Baldassari for the attribution, given after examining the picture in the original. She describes the work as a 'capolavoro' of the artist. We are also grateful to Dr. Sandro Bellesi who attributed the picture to the artist on the basis of a photograph.