The Virgin and Child surrounded by Saints Joseph, Philip Neri and Francis of Assisi

Etienne PARROCEL known as Stefano PARROCEL
(Avignon, 1696 - Rome, 1776)
The Virgin and Child surrounded by Saints Joseph, Philip Neri and Francis of Assisi
circa 1726
This rapidly executed bozzetto is preparatory to Stefano's first Roman commission for Santa Maria in Valicella.
The final canvas is still in place in this church.
The reverse bears the artist's masked signature “St. Parrocel”, visible under infrared light.
Our modello has been examined by the artist's two specialists, Olivier Michel and Yves di Domenico, who have confirmed not only its authenticity but also its high quality and great historical interest.
This composition prefigures the one painted by Sebastiano Conca around 1740, now in the Indianapolis Museum of Art.
Bibliography: Giorgio Falcidia, Stefano Parrocel in Monticelli e altrove, in “Bollettino d'Arte”, n.65, 1991, pp. 133-136.