(Este 1631–1722 Venice)
The penitent Magdalene,
oil on canvas, 116 x 101 cm, framed

Provenance:
Private collection, Venice;
where acquired by the present owner

Exhibited:
Centre Cultural Tecla Sala, L’Hospitalet de Llobregat, Jardín de eros,
9 July – 7 November 1999

Literature:
P. Zampetti, Pittori Bergamaschi dal XIII al XIX secolo. Il Seicento, IV, Bergamo 1987, p. 583, no. 156, p. 627, fig. 2;
V. Combalía/J.-J. Lebel (eds.), Jardín de eros, exhibition catalogue, Barcelona 1999, p. 159

Venetian painting of the seventeenth century is a subject that has been only little considered, in between the Renaissance of Jacopo Bellini, Titian and Tintoretto and the eighteenth century painters Giambattista Tiepolo, Antonio Canaletto and Pietro Longhi. Only in recent decades has the Venetian Baroque period become the focus of in-depth studies and monographic exhibitions, which have enabled scholars to both better delineate this period and isolate its protagonists. Prominent among them is the figure of Antonio Zanchi, who was born in Este near Padua in 1631, one year after the famous and tragic plague of 1630, remembered as one of the most horrific epidemics in Italy.

Having arrived in Venice during his early youth, Antonio Zanchi became Matteo Ponzone’s student, along with Andrea Celesti and Pietro Negri. The multifaceted offerings of contemporary Venice also complemented his artistic education. The influence is evident in his adoption of the so-called “tenebrous painting”, imported to Venice by Luca Giordano and the Genoese Giovan Battista Langetti. Zanchi quickly emerged as an enthusiastic follower of this movement adhering to it with conviction. The artist’s paintings up to the 1670s therefore display violent chiaroscuro contrasts, a lively naturalism and nocturnal toned colours. The compositions, being rich in tension, are characterised by zigzag lines accentuated by volumes and shadows.

Zanchi’s observations of the Emilian Luca Ferrari’s oeuvre, who spent his final days in Padua (1650-54), and probably Alessandro Varotari, called Padovanino, along with his interest in Paolo Veronese, who enjoyed a certain revival in both Venice and Rome at the time, led to the more delicate and less contrasted painting style of his later works. The Martyrdom of Saint Daniel in the Basilica of Santa Giustina (executed in the second half of the eighth decade of the seventeenth century) was one of the first canvases by the artist which demonstrates this change. Here, the colouring as well as the lines are strikingly softer, and the atmosphere appears less dark.

Mary Magdalene is here portrayed in three-quarter length and leaning towards her right in a seductive movement, presenting herself bursting with earthy sensuality. The canonical attributes however - the skull, the crucifix, the hair shirt and the Holy Scriptures - remind us of her saintly status. The Magdalene’s smooth complexion with tones of warm pink is especially highlighted in certain areas; the tones radiating from her sun-reddened chest and cheeks, capturing the observer’s gaze and guiding one’s eyes gently along these parts. The delicacy of the face and hair, which frame the figure and embellish it with a golden brilliance, and the languor of her gaze, render Zanchi’s work a masterpiece of the late seventies of the seventeenth century. References to the Renaissance models of Paolo Veronese and Titian are evident in the present painting, as well as a gradual detachment from the style of tenebrous painting in favour of an adherence to a delicate classicism.

Provenance:
Private collection, Venice;
with Antichità Zanutto, Venice;
where acquired by the present owner

Exhibited:
Centre Cultural Tecla Sala, L’Hospitalet de Llobregat, Jardín de eros,
9 July – 7 November 1999

Literature:
P. Zampetti, Pittori Bergamaschi dal XIII al XIX secolo. Il Seicento, IV, Bergamo 1987, p. 583, no. 156, p. 627, fig. 2;
V. Combalía/J.-J. Lebel (eds.), Jardín de eros, exhibition catalogue, Barcelona 1999, p. 159

Venetian painting of the seventeenth century is a subject that has been only little considered, in between the Renaissance of Jacopo Bellini, Titian and Tintoretto and the eighteenth century painters Giambattista Tiepolo, Antonio Canaletto and Pietro Longhi. Only in recent decades has the Venetian Baroque period become the focus of in-depth studies and monographic exhibitions, which have enabled scholars to both better delineate this period and isolate its protagonists. Prominent among them is the figure of Antonio Zanchi, who was born in Este near Padua in 1631, one year after the famous and tragic plague of 1630, remembered as one of the most horrific epidemics in Italy.

Having arrived in Venice during his early youth, Antonio Zanchi became Matteo Ponzone’s student, along with Andrea Celesti and Pietro Negri. The multifaceted offerings of contemporary Venice also complemented his artistic education. The influence is evident in his adoption of the so-called “tenebrous painting”, imported to Venice by Luca Giordano and the Genoese Giovan Battista Langetti. Zanchi quickly emerged as an enthusiastic follower of this movement adhering to it with conviction. The artist’s paintings up to the 1670s therefore display violent chiaroscuro contrasts, a lively naturalism and nocturnal toned colours. The compositions, being rich in tension, are characterised by zigzag lines accentuated by volumes and shadows.

Zanchi’s observations of the Emilian Luca Ferrari’s oeuvre, who spent his final days in Padua (1650-54), and probably Alessandro Varotari, called Padovanino, along with his interest in Paolo Veronese, who enjoyed a certain revival in both Venice and Rome at the time, led to the more delicate and less contrasted painting style of his later works. The Martyrdom of Saint Daniel in the Basilica of Santa Giustina (executed in the second half of the eighth decade of the seventeenth century) was one of the first canvases by the artist which demonstrates this change. Here, the colouring as well as the lines are strikingly softer, and the atmosphere appears less dark.

Mary Magdalene is here portrayed in three-quarter length and leaning towards her right in a seductive movement, presenting herself bursting with earthy sensuality. The canonical attributes however - the skull, the crucifix, the hair shirt and the Holy Scriptures - remind us of her saintly status. The Magdalene’s smooth complexion with tones of warm pink is especially highlighted in certain areas; the tones radiating from her sun-reddened chest and cheeks, capturing the observer’s gaze and guiding one’s eyes gently along these parts. The delicacy of the face and hair, which frame the figure and embellish it with a golden brilliance, and the languor of her gaze, render Zanchi’s work a masterpiece of the late seventies of the seventeenth century. References to the Renaissance models of Paolo Veronese and Titian are evident in the present painting, as well as a gradual detachment from the style of tenebrous painting in favour of an adherence to a delicate classicism.