Federico BAROCCI (Atelier de) (Urbino, 1535 – 1612)

Federico BAROCCI (Workshop of)
(Urbino, 1535 - 1612)
Antonio VIVIANI, says IL SORDO DI URBINO?
(Urbino, 1560 - 1620)

The Madonna of the Rosary appearing at Saint Dominic de Guzman
Around 1590
In 1588, the confraternity of the Assumption and the Rosary of Senigallia commissioned Barocci an altar painting representing the Madonna of the Rosary, formerly placed (according to Moroni) in the church of San Rocco from which it was removed because of damage suffered during the Second World War and now preserved in the episcopal palace of this city. The genesis of this painting is recounted in the minutes of the confraternity published by A. Anselmi 1. We know that at the end of 1582, when the Deposition of Christ of Barocci was installed in Santa Croce de Senigallia, the "Sisters of the Rosary Began to raise money for the painting.
In March 1588, Governor Curzio Zanibelli addressed the artist and the first steps regarding the contract could take place. In a letter from Duke Francesco Maria II della Rovere addressed August 12, 1592 to the bishop of Todi, the painting is mentioned with the Crucifixion of Genoa and the Last Supper of Urbino as already begun.2 In 1596, according to Gronau 3, the Madonna of the Rosary and the Last Supper were still in progress, giving reason to Anselmi 4 for whom the painting was finished between 1596-1599. The Ashmolean Museum in Oxford preserves a beautiful grisaille bozzetto on preparatory paper on Senigallia's painting. This testifies to Barocci's particular research for setting up the values ??of shadows and lights before preliminary to the final realization. The Poldi Pezzoli Museum in Milan retains a studio version of the same dimensions from Riccardo Lampugnani's collection. The remarkable quality of execution and the format of our version suggest that it was made directly from the original by one of the most talented students of the Barocci workshop, such as Alessandro Vitale (Urbino , 1580-1630) 6 or Antonio Cimatori said Visacci (Urbino, circa 1550-Rimini, 1623) 7. We send our warmest thanks to Professor Emiliani for his help in writing the note.

1. A. Anselmi, in "Rass. Biblio. dell'Arte Italiana ", VIII, 1905, p. 140 et seq.
2. H. Olsen, Federico Barocci, Copenhagen 1962, p. 186.
3. G. Gronau, Documenti artistici urbinati, Firenze 1936, p. 29.
4. A. Anselmi, op. cit.
5. Dim. 545 × 385 mm. Inv. A.709.
6. See Alessandro Marchi, (under the direction of Anna Maria Ambrosini Massari and Marina Cellini) in Nel Segno di Barocci, Allievi e seguaci Marche Marche, Umbria, Siena, Milano 2005, p. 134-140.
7. See Romina Vitali, (under the direction of Anna Maria Ambrosini Massari and Marina Cellini) in Nel segno di Barocci, Allievi e Seguaci Tra Marche, Umbria, Siena, Milano 2005, p. 94-105. The National Galleries of Scotland keep a drawing by Antonio Cimatori after the head of the Virgin of the Oxford Sketch, cf. David Scrase, A Touch of the Divine, Drawings by Federico Barocci in British Collections, catalog of the Fitzwilliam Museum exhibition, Cambridge 2006, p. 222-223, No. 83.