(Sermoneta 1521–1575 Rome)
The Holy Family with the Infant Saint John the Baptist,
oil on panel, 124 x 97,5 cm, framed

Provenance:
sale, Neumeister, Munich, 29 September 1999, lot 631;
sale, Sotheby’s, New York, 27 January 2011, lot 255

Girolamo Siciolante seems to have begun his artistic career in Rome under the supervision of Leonardo Grazia da Pistoia (1502–1548?). An assistant of Perino del Vaga for important papal commissions, he numbered among the artists most sought after in Rome around 1540. Siciolante not only carried out compositions in Perino’s style, but also worked as an independent master. The earliest document of their collaboration dates from 1544, when Perino executed a series of frescoes for the Loggia of Paul III at the Castel Sant’Angelo. Only one year later, Siciolante received a commission from the Pope’s son, Pier Luigi Farnese, in Piacenza. Although their first collaboration is only documented in 1544, Siciolante seems to have known Perino from as early as 1541, when the former painted his first autonomous work. The Valvisciolo Altar (Sermoneta, Castello Caetan) reveals Perino’s influence, above all in the figure of the Infant Saint John the Baptist. The figure of the young Christ in Perino’s Holy Family (Liechtenstein Collection, Vaduz), for example, is rendered in a very similar manner.

The Valvisciolo Altar also lends itself to comparison with the present painting, particularly concerning the figure of the Madonna.. Both the Valvisciolo Altar and the present painting rely on Perino’s compositions, even if it is not possible to identify concrete models. A replica of the present painting was attributed to Perino del Vaga in a sale on 25 May 2000 at Sotheby’s (lot 19). Siciolante’s paintings, however, display a more classical, Raphaelesque sensitivity as Siciolante came to familiarise himself with Raphael and his classical followers through Perino, as is apparent in the elegantly rendered figures, the balanced compositions, and the great harmony of his works.