CARLO CIGNANI | Joseph's dream, a modello

This grisaille was created in preparation for Cignani’s altarpiece for the Church of San Filippo Neri in Forli, which was lost during the Napoleonic suppression. 18^th-century art critic Francesco Algarotti noted that the artist was fond of his altarpiece and “often went to see it.”¹ A copy now hangs in the church in Forli, and a second grisaille copy is in the Municipal Museum of Faenza. The original altarpiece was recorded in a drawing by Felice Giani now in the Municipal Gallery of Forli as well as an engraving by Benedetto Eredi (fig. 1).² Cignani quoted the figure of the angel descending from the clouds from Caravaggio’s famous Martyrdom of St. Matthew in San Luigi dei Francesi, Rome, but demonstrated his individual style with the elegant, noble figures. 1. B.B. Fabbri, Carlo Cignani, Affreschi Dipinti Disegni, Bologna 1991, p. 212, no. 88
2.  Ibid.