(Sassoferrato 1609–1685 Rome)
Madonna adoring the sleeping Child,
oil on canvas, oval, 38 x 44.5 cm, framed

Provenance:
sale, Pierre Bergé & Associés, Paris, 8 December 2017, lot 22 (as Giovanni Battista Salvi);
where acquired by the present owner

The present painting relates to a composition by Guido Reni in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna (inv. no. Gemäldegalerie 246) and another in the Galleria Doria Pamphilj, Rome.

Giovan Battista Salvi, better known by the name of his city of origin, Sassoferrato, received his first training from his father Tarquinio, before making a crucial and formative journey to Rome. Here he studied the works of his contemporary, Guido Reni, which is apparent in the present painting composition. He was also influenced by the great masters of the previous century, first and foremost, Raphael. Indeed, Sassoferrato’s paintings are stylistically steeped in sixteenth-century classicism, and his compositions often reveal passages of highly refined archaism. Although he was greatly sought-after as a portraitist, the artist is most celebrated for his devotional paintings, which like the present work, are characterised by an intimate and refined tone.