(Milan 1660–1713 Bologna)
The Adoration of the Magi,
oil on canvas, 102.5 x 123 cm, framed

The present painting by the Lombard painter Stefano Maria Legnani, called il Legnanino, shows a multifigure composition depicting the moment the Christ Child, attended to by Mary and Joseph, is offered gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh by the three Wise Men. The figures, depicted in half-length, dominate the composition, taking up much of the pictorial space. Indeed, this is further enhanced by their elevated standpoint, which conveys the impression of depth through the staggered structure of the receding figures. The diagonal wooden beam in the background guides the viewer’s eye to the Madonna and Child, who are seated just off-centre. Further emphasis on the pictorial centre is created by the colour choice of the clothing: Mary is clothed in azure and rose tones which are mirrored in the second magus’ apparel in contrast to the earthy hues of the other garments. Positioned at lower centre, the clasped hands of the kneeling Wise Man, rendered with fine, brisk brushstrokes, draw the viewer into the scene.

The youthful elegant appearance of the Madonna’s features are reminiscent of the Renaissance ideal, which reappered in Bolognese painting towards the end of the seventeenth century and the beginning of the eighteenth century. Born into a family of painters, Stefano Maria Legnani, trained in the workshop of the Bolognese Baroque painter, Carlo Cignani (1628–1719), whose innovative style marked a break with the earlier Bolognese School of painting associated with Guercino (1628–1719) and Guido Reni (1575–1642). Over the course of his apprenticeship in Bologna, il Legnanino rediscovered the graceful aura of Correggio’s art, utilising and interpreting it in accordance with the artistic taste of the time. Working in Milan, Bologna as well as Torino and Genoa, il Legnanino plays a significant role as an innovator of the Lombard pictorial tradition.