Lot 19: Attributed to Francesco Cavazzoni (Bologna 1559-1612) Recto: The Agony in the Garden; Verso: The Crucifixion

Recto: The Agony in the Garden; Verso: The Crucifixion
oil on copper
42.2 x 32cm (16 5/8 x 12 5/8in).

Very little is known of the life of Francesco Cavazzoni. He is recorded as having worked in the studio of Passarotti and then with the Carracci. He went on to carry out commissions for various churches in Bologna but he also became known for his writing on the subject of artistic iconography such as his work Corona di grazie, favori e miracoli della gloriosa Vergin Maria which is now in the Biblioteca Comunale in Bologna.

The placement of the figures, the distinctive palette and the treatment of the flesh tones, particularly those of Christ, can all be compared with the large signed work (oil on canvas, 245 x 157 cm.) which Cavazzoni painted for the Church of Santa Cecilia, now in the Pinacoteca Nazionale, Bologna (see fig. 1).

The present painting is accompanied by a letter from Roberto Longhi from 1956 in which he suggested the attribution to Cavazzoni. In his correspondence, Longhi also compared the present painting with the large work in Bologna.