(Verona c. 1585/1590–1623?)
Saint Charles Borromeo praying before a Crucifix,
oil on canvas, 133 x 89 cm, framed

Provenance:
possibly Villa Albani, Casino di caccia of pope Clement XI (1700-1721), Colbordolo (PU), 18th Century (according to the owner);
possibly Albani Palace, Urbino (between 1818 and circa 1915) (see Documentation);
European private collection

Documentation:
Urbino, Archivio di Stato, Fondo Notarile, notaio Domenico Parenti, vol. 3977, Inventory Castelbarco Albani, 1818, f. 156r.-255v., room 14 (“Camera del letto Cinese”), f. 214v: ‘Un quadro rappresentante S. Carlo Borromeo dipinto da eccellente pennello con cornice dorata, alto la luce palmi 6, once 7 largo palmi 4, once 8,5’;
Castelbarco Albani family, private Archive, Inventory 1912, n. 172: ‘S. Carlo Borromeo’ by ‘Lomazzo’

We are grateful to Gianni Papi for suggesting the attribution and for his help in cataloging the present painting.

This previously unpublished painting by Pietro Bernardi is a rare example of a work by a painter with a limited biography at present. It is not know when he was born, nor the precise date of his death. The date of 1623 is supported by no documentary evidence except for the writings of his biographer, Bartolomeo Dal Pozzo.

Bernardi´s paintings in Verona provide only two chronological references: 1617 for the Annunciation in the Church of San Fermo and 1615 or 1616 for two paintings depicting Episodes from the life of Saint Charles Borromeo in the Church of San Carlo. It is possible to add to the artist´s corpus the Holy Family with Saint Anne and Saint Joachim, today in the Castelvecchio Museum (formerly in the Church of the Observant Friars at Isola della Scala), and the Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane in Santa Anastasia (see S. Marinelli, Su Antonio Giarola e altri fatti veronesi del suo tempo, in: Paragone 387, 1982, pp. 33–43, p. 34, fig. 28) as well as Saint Isidore the Farmer in the convent of Santa Maria della Scala and the possible Self-portrait at the Accademia Cignaroli (see S. Marinelli op. cit.1982, p. 34-35, 40-41, n. 3-7, fig. 29-30).

These paintings, apparently all executed within a short period of time are close to Carravaggio´s naturalistic style, especially when compared to his three other colleagues from Verona: Bassetti, Ottino and Turchi. In fact Bernardi is regarded as the only Veronese painter following the Caravaggesque repertoire. This strongly suggests that Bernardi must have spent some time in Rome, although this is neither documented nor mentioned by his biographer, Dal Pozzo. It would be difficult to otherwise explain the evident stylistic link with Orazio Borgianni (as well as with Giovan Francesco Guerrieri), which the painter’s known works suggest. Unlike Bassetti and Turchi, whose stays in Rome are well-documented and who were in contact with Saraceni, Bernardi does not display a dominant stylistic reference to the Saraceni, but rather to Orazio Borgianni (see G. Papi, Orazio Borgianni, Soncino 1993, pp. 18, 190, fig. 47). In fact the present painting of Saint Charles Borromeo praying before a Crucifix was traditionally attributed to Orazio Borgianni.

Papi compares the execution of the face in the present composition with those of the old parents of the Madonna in the Adoration of the Shepherds in Castelvecchio. The structure of the hands, too, depicted by means of fluid, short, insisted brush strokes, is similar to the one in similar parts of the painting of Saint Charles Distributing Bread to the Poor and Saint Charles Helping the Plague-Ridden in the church of San Carlo. Also similar are the long, white brush strokes shaping the tunic and the pattern of the folds of the red cloak in the present painting compared to the the Veronese painting of Saint Charles Helping the Plague-Ridden.

Papi states that this work is an important addition to Pietro Bernardini’s oeuvre. It is stylistically close to the work of Borgianni and the present painting was probably executed in the first half of the second decade of the century, perhaps in Rome, and it is close to Orazio Borgiani´s two great prototypes in San Carlino alle Quattro Fontane and for the Church of the Mercedarians. As already suggested by the painting in Castelvecchio, Bernardi adheres to a rough, strong naturalistic painterly style. This is visible not only in the saint’s whole figure, but also in elements of exceptional calibre such as the skull on the table, which is highly reminiscent of Orazio Borgianni.

We are grateful to Prof. Anna Maria Ambrosini Massari for her support in researching the provenance and for the archival documentation.