The Vision of Saint Francis
Lodovico Carracci·c. 1602
Historical Context
Lodovico Carracci's Vision of Saint Francis depicts the moment when the founder of the Franciscan order received divine revelation, a subject that gained renewed popularity during the Counter-Reformation. As the eldest of the three Carracci and co-founder of the Accademia degli Incamminati in Bologna, Lodovico championed a return to emotional directness and naturalism in religious painting. The intimate copper support suggests this was intended for private devotion.
Technical Analysis
Painted on copper, the smooth surface allows Lodovico's brushwork to achieve exceptional luminosity and enamel-like finish. The dramatic chiaroscuro and warm palette reflect the Carracci reform of painting, balancing Venetian colorism with Lombard naturalism.
Provenance
Possibly the copper mentioned in the Casa Falconieri in Rome by 1678 ("In casa Falconieri il bel rame, ove una femmina allatta un puttino, uno ismorza una face, uno vota una cornucopia di ricchezze ed un Angeletto gli cenna verso il cielo. L'altro di non inferiore beltà, ov 'è la B. Verg. col puttino, S. Francesco e un Angelo veramente di Paradiso," according to Malvasia, vol. 1, 1841, p. 355); might be the picture listed as in the collection of Don Carlo Francesco Ferrari, Prevost of Crevalcore ("Una Madonna con un S. Francesco che ha un puttino e una Beata Vergine, di Lodovico Carrazza," according to Campori, 1870, p. 430); collection of Hans Merkel, Esq.—a dealer with a small gallery near Baker Street, London—by 1973 [according to George Gordon of Sotheby’s London, in correspondence with Eve Straussman-Pflanzer, February 2010]; London, Sotheby’s, May 30, 1973, lot 57 for £9,000 to Leggatt Brothers; Thos. Agnew and Sons Ltd., London, by 1973; purchased by John Goelet from Agnew’s at an undisclosed date [according to Clovis Whitfield in correspondence with Eve Straussman-Pflanzer on November 10, 2010]: New York, Christie’s. January 27, 2010, lot 14, to Otto Naumann, Ltd; sold to the Art Institute, 2010.
