(Faenza 1562–1645)
Saint Francis in Prayer,
oil on copper, 40 x 27 cm, framed

We are grateful to Daniele Benati for confirming the attribution on the basis of a high resolution digital photograph.

Ferraù Fenzoni was called ‘il Faenzone’ after his bithplace of Faenza. His early career was spent in Rome where he worked on many fresco cycles. His painting has affinities with the work of Francesco Vanni and Andrea Lilio as, in the last decade of the 16th century, he worked with these two artists on the execution of The Pentecost for the Lateran Palace, The Bronze Serpent and The Flagellation of Christ for the Scala Santa, The Library at Athens and The Allegory of the Law for the Vatican Library, and the decoration of the apartments of Pius V. In 1591 Fenzoni painted a fresco for the chapel of Santa Maria in Trastevere and two years later completed the decoration of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome. These two projects are characterized by a sense of realism and a move away from the Mannerism of the previous decade.

At the end of the 1590s Fenzoni was summoned to Urbino by the Bishop of Todi, Angelo Cesi, who had admired his cycle of paintings for the church of Vallicella in Rome (now lost). The influence of Federico Barocci, whose Works he would have seen in Urbino, is apparent in the present compostion with the chromatic range, use of light, and iridescent tones.

Fenzoni executed a large number of works in Umbria, notably the fresco of The Last Judgement in 1596 for Todi cathedral, Saint Michael expelling Satan for the Cenni chapel in the cathedral, and The Martyrdom of Saint Lawrence for Perugia cathedral. In 1599 he painted a series of six scenes for an altarpiece in the right aisle of Todi cathedral, which is notable for its proto-Baroque style. The artist returned to his native city of Faenza the following year, where he established himself and worked in a style that remained largely unchanged for the remainder of his career.