- 2
Ludovico Carracci
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Description
- Ludovico Carracci
- The Penitent Saint Peter
- Brushed on the reverse with the inventory number: 33
- oil on canvas
Provenance
Gifted by the artist to Count Camillo Bolognetti, Bologna, and by descent;
Possibly Count Cesare Bianchetti Monti, Bologna, 1825;
Private Collection, United States;
With Heim Gallery, London, 1978;
From whom acquired by Barbara Piasecka Johnson;
Her Sale, London, Sotheby's, 8 July 2009, lot 20;
There acquired by present owner.
Possibly Count Cesare Bianchetti Monti, Bologna, 1825;
Private Collection, United States;
With Heim Gallery, London, 1978;
From whom acquired by Barbara Piasecka Johnson;
Her Sale, London, Sotheby's, 8 July 2009, lot 20;
There acquired by present owner.
Exhibited
London, Heim Gallery, The Baroque in Italy, 15 June - 25 August 1978, no. 1;
Warsaw, The Royal Castle, Opus Sacrum, 10 April - 23 September 1990, no. 26.
Warsaw, The Royal Castle, Opus Sacrum, 10 April - 23 September 1990, no. 26.
Literature
C.C. Malvasia, Felsina Pittrice. Vite de' pittori bolognesi, Bologna 1678 [1841], pp. 286, 329, note 1;
M. Oretti, Le Pitture che si ammirano nelli Palaggi, e Casa de'Nobili della città di Bologna, late eighteenth century, 104, Biblioteca Comunale, Bologna, folio 161;
M. Oretti, Le Pitture che si ammirano nelli Palaggi, e Casa de'Nobili della città di Bologna, late eighteenth century, Ms, B 105, Biblioteca Comunale, Bologna, folio 606;
F. Belvisi, Elogio Storico del Pittore Ludovico Carracci, Bologna 1825, p. 54;
H. Bodmer, Ludovico Carracci, Burg bei Magdeburg, 1939, pp. 138-140;
D. Miller, "A Drawing by Ludovico Carracci for his lost 'Penitence of St. Peter'", in The Burlington Magazine, vol. 106, August 1964, p. 374;
G. Feigenbaum, Ludovico Carracci. A Critical Study of his Later Career and a Catalogue of His Paintings, Princeton University dissertation 1984, pp. 441;
A. Brogi, 'Lorenzo Garbieri: un "incamminato" fra romanzo sacro e romanzo nero', in Paragone, vol. 471, 1989, pp. 15, 24, note 42;
D. Benati in J. Grabski, ed., Opus Sacrum, exhibition catalogue, Vienna 1990, pp. 154-159, no. 26, reproduced in color;
C. Legrand, Le dessin à Bologne 1580-1620. La réform des trois Carracci, Paris 1994, p. 22;
C. Loisel, Gli Affreschi dei Carracci. Studi e disegni preparatori, Bologna 2000, p. 100;
A. Brogi, Ludovico Carracci, Bologna 2001, pp. 225-226, no. 113, reproduced in colour plate XLVII.
M. Oretti, Le Pitture che si ammirano nelli Palaggi, e Casa de'Nobili della città di Bologna, late eighteenth century, 104, Biblioteca Comunale, Bologna, folio 161;
M. Oretti, Le Pitture che si ammirano nelli Palaggi, e Casa de'Nobili della città di Bologna, late eighteenth century, Ms, B 105, Biblioteca Comunale, Bologna, folio 606;
F. Belvisi, Elogio Storico del Pittore Ludovico Carracci, Bologna 1825, p. 54;
H. Bodmer, Ludovico Carracci, Burg bei Magdeburg, 1939, pp. 138-140;
D. Miller, "A Drawing by Ludovico Carracci for his lost 'Penitence of St. Peter'", in The Burlington Magazine, vol. 106, August 1964, p. 374;
G. Feigenbaum, Ludovico Carracci. A Critical Study of his Later Career and a Catalogue of His Paintings, Princeton University dissertation 1984, pp. 441;
A. Brogi, 'Lorenzo Garbieri: un "incamminato" fra romanzo sacro e romanzo nero', in Paragone, vol. 471, 1989, pp. 15, 24, note 42;
D. Benati in J. Grabski, ed., Opus Sacrum, exhibition catalogue, Vienna 1990, pp. 154-159, no. 26, reproduced in color;
C. Legrand, Le dessin à Bologne 1580-1620. La réform des trois Carracci, Paris 1994, p. 22;
C. Loisel, Gli Affreschi dei Carracci. Studi e disegni preparatori, Bologna 2000, p. 100;
A. Brogi, Ludovico Carracci, Bologna 2001, pp. 225-226, no. 113, reproduced in colour plate XLVII.
Catalogue Note
Although mentioned by Ludovico's earliest biographer Malvasia as early as 1678, all trace of this monumental image by Ludovico Carracci of repentance was lost until its rediscovery approximately 40 years ago. Gail Feigenbaum was the first to suggest that the large scale and emotional grandeur of this Penitent Saint Peter suggested a later dating within Carracci’s career, towards the middle of the second decade of the seventeenth century, and specifically to circa 1613. The striking use of expressive gesture and emotional content are indicative traits among Ludovico's later works. The figure, physically large and imposing, occupies virtually the entire picture surface, and is dramatically lit from above, highlighting the Saint against a dark and neutral background.