Jacopo Confortini (1602-1672), Madonna And Child With Two Angels

Jacopo Confortini (Florence 1602-1672)
Madonna and Child with Two Angels

Oil on canvas
80 x 60 cm./Framed 101 x 81 cm.


The proposed painting, datable to around the middle of the 17th century, depicts the Virgin enveloped in a golden glow and reclining on a throne of fluffy clouds, while lovingly supporting the Child on her lap, with two adoring angels.

Jesus is portrayed here receiving from his mother's hands a goldfinch, a bird with a strong symbolic value, whose presence alludes to the death and passion of Christ. According to Christian tradition, in fact, in an attempt to extract a sting from the crown of thorns placed on the Messiah's head to alleviate his suffering during the ascent to Mount Calvary, the little bird stained its feathers with his blood, forever dyeing its head red.

The attention to the role of light is evident, all played out in vivid contrasts, which gives prominence to the painting and creates vivid relationships, with a remarkable rendering of detail.

Focusing on the refinement of the poses and the vividness of the colour material, the sacredness of the image is softened by the spontaneous gestures of the two protagonists, leading one to think of a scene from everyday life rather than a religious image. The vivid colours also emphasise the joyful event, although the golden background and the luminous halo propagated by the Virgin recall the divine dimension of the characters.

From the stylistic analysis, we are inclined to identify the possible author in the Florentine artist Jacopo Confortini, belonging to a family of artists, son of the painter of Pisan origin Matteo and elder brother of the lesser-known Jacopo, presumably placing his execution in the first part of the 17th century, although the pictorial stylistic features are still indebted to chronologically earlier Tuscan models (a very similar design can be found in the production of the painter Palutilla Nelli, specifically in her Madonna del Latte).

The painter was probably trained in a family environment and then frequented established artists such as Giovanni Bilivert and Matteo Rosselli. In his early twenties, he took part in the decoration of the Medici casino in San Marco, coming into contact with the imaginative Giovanni da San Giovanni. He enrolled in the Art of Drawing in 1629, obtaining numerous sacred and profane commissions. During this period he distinguished himself for his drawing skills, compositional flair, with interesting scenographic insertions, and chromatic richness.