Pamono Cignani, Miracle of Saint Francis, 1700, Oil on Canvas, Framed> Old Masters|Classical

The Miracle of Saint Francis of Paola

Oil on canvas (165 x 111 cm – Framed 182 x 129 cm)

Work accompanied by an expert opinion by Prof. Emilio Negro

The painting presented (oil on canvas, 166 x 114 cm) is well preserved and depicts Saint Francis of Paola miraculously healing a young girl brought before him by her parents, with her mother holding her sleeping brother in her lap.

A native of the Calabrian towns from which he takes his name and who lived between the 15th and 16th centuries, Francis was a member of the Franciscan order, revered for his healing powers. His motto was “Caritas,” which we find here in the inscription visible on the altarpiece at the end of the staff.

This was an important religious figure whose fame spread beyond Italy to France. By order of Pope Sixtus IV, he traveled to France to be with King Louis XI. Although he was unable to cure the ailing sovereign, he helped him to mend his ways, repair many wrongs, and settle pending issues with the Holy See.

from a stylistic perspective, as noted by Professor Emilio Negro in his study, we are in the presence of an interesting work by an artist active in Emilia between the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. His manner clearly demonstrates an understanding of Carlo Cignani’s pictorial oeuvre, and therefore can be recognized as belonging to an artist in his workshop, in this case revealing a reinterpretation of the pictorial texts of Guercino and Annibale Carracci.

Given these elements, it’s likely that the hand of Felice Cignani (Bologna, 1658 – Forli, 1724) was the work of a painter of noble birth, as well as Carlo’s son and pupil. He himself became a respected master, among the last followers of his father’s glorious workshop, where, as is well known, even the most demanding tasks were entrusted to the best disciples due to the numerous commissions. Thus, the students had the opportunity to collaborate effectively, learning the secrets of the profession directly from the workshop leader.

The detail of the two figures in the background, a mother with her child on her lap, is beautiful and cannot help but evoke the beautiful Madonnas and Childs so dear to the Cignani workshop.

To confirm the attribution proposed here, it will suffice to compare our St. Francis of Paola with other works by Felice Cignani executed in the late years of his maturity spent in Forlì, such as, for example, St. Gertrude (Forlì, church of S.Mercuriale); in this latter painting, like ours, the warm and highly contrasting luminosity typical of the Bolognese artist emerges. And also the altarpiece with Saint Thomas Aquinas (Pinacoteca Civica “Melozzo degli Ambrogi”, Forlì, and Saint Philip Neri in Adoration.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

The painting is sold with a beautiful frame and comes with a certificate of authenticity and an iconographic .