Giovanni Battista Paggi
The return from the Flight into Egypt
Auction Closed
March 22, 07:15 PM GMT
Estimate
10,000 - 15,000 EUR
Lot Details
Description
Giovanni Battista Paggi
Genoa 1554 - 1627 (?)
The return from the Flight into Egypt
bears inventory number lower left: 12
oil on panel
unframed: 44 x 34 cm.; 17⅜ x 13⅜ in.
framed: 55.5 x 46 cm.; 21⅞ x 18⅛ in.
By whom sold ('The Property of Lady Veronica Woolfe'), London, Christie's, 24 May 1963, lot 59 (as attributed to Lelio Orsi);
With Colnaghi, London, by 1964;
Acquired by the present owner in 2002.
S. Lecchini Giovannoni, 'Il ritorno dall’Egitto di Giovanni Battista Paggi', in Antichità Viva, XXIV, nos 1–3, 1985, p. 55;
S. Lecchini Giovannoni, 'Ancora sul Paggi', in Antichità Viva, XXV, nos 5–6, 1986 p. 32, fig.5, reproduced (as current location unknwon).
Of noble Genoese birth, the self-taught painter Giovanni Battista Paggi fled his hometown in 1581 after being convicted for the murder of a patron who had failed to pay him for his work. He soon settled in Florence at the court of Francesco I de' Medici (1541–1587), where he was able to establish his artistic reputation. His patrons included some of the most powerful political figures of his day, including Niccolò di Sinibaldo Gaddi, Alessandro Segni and Pietro del Nero.
This beautifully preserved panel is a reduced version, with differences in the landscape and staffage, of Paggi's celebrated altarpiece depicting The return from the Flight into Egypt (depositories of the Palazzo Pitti, Florence), commissioned by the Benedictine abbot Silvano Razzi between 1584 and 1586 for the Chruch of Santa Maria degli Angeli, Florence.1 A preparatory drawing for this composition is in the collection of the National Galleries of Scotland, Edinburgh, and sketches for the figure of Jesus are in the Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen, and the Uffizi Gallery, Florence.2
The number of extant autograph versions and period copies of Paggi's altarpiece are a testament to its popularity from its earliest history. Lecchini Giovannoni lists five autograph versions including the present work, celebrated for its luminous palette and tender devotional feeling.3 Moreover, the widespread circulation of a print by Cornelis Galle contributed to the dissemination of the composition across Europe.4
1 Inv. no. 00643942; oil on canvas; 340 x 230 cm.; https://catalogo.uffizi.it/it/29/ricerca/detailiccd/1186175/
2 Inv. no. D 3079; brown ink over black chalk on paper; 44.3 x 29.8 cm.; https://www.nationalgalleries.org/art-and-artists/13905/return-holy-family-egypt-attended-angels; Inv. no. KKS10542; red chalk on paper; 27.3 x 19.2 cm.; https://open.smk.dk/en/artwork/image/KKS10542?q=paggi&page=0; Inv. no. 2152F; red chalk on paper; 33.1 x 22.7 cm.; reproduced in Lecchini Giovannoni 1985, p. 54.
3 Lecchini Giovannoni 1985, p. 55.
4 See for example the impression in the Rijksmuseun, Amsterdam, Inv. no. RP-P-OB-6593; engraving; 48.5 × 32.2 cm.; http://hdl.handle.net/10934/RM0001.COLLECT.114237
This lot has an artistic export license. Please refer to the specialist department for further information about export procedures and shipping costs.
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