(Rome 1608 – c. 1673)
A garland of flowers surrounding a medallion depicting the Annunciation,
oil on canvas, 135 x 110 cm, framed

We are grateful to Alberto Cottino for confirming the attribution to Giovanni Stanchi (written communication).

As we can see from the present composition Giovanni Stanchi’s style is so international that his works are frequently attributed to other, mostly Flemish, artists. The present painting has a pendant of the same dimensions in Dessau, Anhaltinische Gemäldegalerie, depicting an almost identical garland surrounding the scene of Christ among the Doctors. After Bettina Warche published this painting (see fig.) as a work by the Antwerp painter Frans Ykens (in: Fiori, Cinque Secoli di Pittura Floreale, exhibition catalogue, ed. by F. Solinas [Biella, 21 March – 27 June 2004], Rome, 2004, pp. 245/55 and 258), Lanfranco Ravelli reattributed it to Stanchi (see L. Ravelli, Stanchi dei Fiori, Bergamo, 2005, no. 46, oil on canvas, 133.5 x 110.5 cm). Cottino confirms Ravelli’s attribution. At present it cannot be determined if the painting mentioned above was the only accompanying painting or whether the two pictures formed part of a larger series that is now lost.

Additional picture
The pendant at the Anhaltische Gemäldegalerie, Dessau