(Bologna 1578–1660)
The Ecstasy of Saint Catherine of Siena,
oil on copper, 29 x 22 cm, framed

On the reverse indistinctly incised with a topographical view of Costantinople.

Provenance:
Almagià collection, Rome;
thence by descent to the present owner

Literature:
C. Puglisi, Francesco Albani, New Haven/London 1999, p. 109, no. 28, pl. 49

The present painting on copper is a record of the Bolognese painter Francesco Albani’s Roman activity and Catherine Puglisi, in her monograph on the artist, has dated this painting to 1605-07 (see literature). Albani moved to Rome in 1601 after an apprenticeship in his native city of Bologna in the studio of the Flemish painter Denys Calvaert and his subsequent participation in the Carracci’s Accademia degli Incamminati. These experiences, combined with his close study of the works of Correggio, allowed him to create a realist language that permitted him to assert himself as an independent master by the end of the century. On his arrival in Rome, Albani collaborated with Annibale Carracci and Guido Reni on various prestigious projects. Albani assisted Guido Reni in a number of major decorative cycles, including that of the Chapel of the Annunciation (1609–12) in the Quirinal Palace and the choir (1612–14) of Santa Maria della Pace. He also worked with Carracci on the lunettes designed for the chapel of Pietro Aldobrandini’s Roman palace (now part of the Doria Pamphili Palace).

The present painting reveals a serene classicism that emerges both from the choice of colour palette and the composition. The painting is framed on each side by columns providing an architectural setting, while beyond there is an extensive atmospheric landscape beneath a clear sky: these elements clearly speak of the artist’s first years of Roman experience. Saint Catherine of Siena in ecstasy is represented in the foreground, dressed in her usual Dominican habit, the lily on the ground before her is her traditional attribute. Two angels support her, while on the right Christ leans towards her from a cloud. The round-faced angels with curly hair and the velvety soft paint surface of the picture are elements that were typical of other works from Albani’s early Roman period, such as the Saint John the Baptist in the desert, also on copper, in the John and Mable Ringling Museum, Sarasota (inv. no. sn 115) or the Saint Francis in Ecstasy from the Galleria Doria Pamphilj, Rome (inv. no. 170/248) which also shares the same compositional arrangement as the present painting (see op. cit. Puglisi, 1999, pp. 102-103, no. 20 and p. 100, no. 14).

Another work by Albani representing Saint Catherine of Siena is documented in two inventories, dated 1623 and 1633, from the effects of Cardinal Ludovico Ludovisi, however, the dimensions of this work appear to be larger than those of the present painting (see: K. Garas, The Ludovisi collection of pictures in 1633, in: The Burlington Magazine, CIX, 1967, pp. 287-289 and 339-348, no. 219; C. Wood, The Ludovisi collection of paintings in 1623, in: The Burlington Magazine, CXXXIV, 1992, pp. 515-523, no. 67).

Many years later, the artist adopted the composition of the present painting for an altarpiece, executed with his studio, for the Albicini Chapel in the church of San Domenico in Forlì, and now preserved in the Palazzo Arcivescovile, Milan (see: Puglisi, op. cit. 1999, p. 189, no. 103). This painting depicts the same principal group as the present work, but includes only one angel supporting the saint, with the addition of a group of cherubs watching from a cloud above.

On the verso of the present copper pane there is an engraved map of a coastal city: this can be identified as Constantinople on account of the recognisable buildings overlooking the Golden Horn, and notably the Topkapi palace complex.