Italian school (Rome) of the XVIII century.

Italian school (Rome) of the 18th century.
"The Virgin and Child with angels" and "The Holy Family with St. John the Baptist child".
Pair of oil paintings on slate.
One has restored tears; the other has restored faults.
Measurements: 26 x 40 cm (each); 32 x 46,5 cm (frames).

This pair of oil paintings on slate represents an exquisite testimony of the Italian painting of the Settecento. They are two cabinet works, of small format and technical preciosity, conceived for private devotion and the aesthetic delight of an erudite collector. The choice of slate as a support gives the painting a smooth and luminous surface, and endows the object with an enduring and luxurious character.

Stylistically, these works are situated at a fascinating crossroads between the dramatic pathos of the late Baroque and the incipient grace of Rococo, with a marked classicist accent typical of the Roman school of the time.

In this first composition, we witness a scene of Marian glorification of great restrained solemnity. The Virgin is tenderly holding the Child Jesus. The iconography is enriched by the presence of a celestial cortege that pays homage to them by offering flowers, symbol of Mary's purity (Mystic Rose), of virtues and of Paradise.

The neutral and dark background eliminates all narrative distractions, concentrating the viewer's attention on the sacred figures. By means of a studied chiaroscuro, the light emanates from the characters themselves, modeling their anatomies and cloths with a solidity and volume that give them, as is well pointed out, an eminently sculptural character. The two red curtains hanging in the upper corners are a resource inherited from the theatrical Baroque.

The second painting presents the Holy Family with St. John the Baptist, a theme highly appreciated in the Settecento for its ability to humanize the divine. The composition is articulated around the central group of the Virgin and Child, who interact with a young St. John the Baptist. The latter appears with his canonical attributes: the lamb (Agnus Dei), a prefiguration of Christ's sacrifice, and a phylactery that confirms his role as Precursor.

In the background is St. Joseph. His representation is remarkable: with a grizzled beard and a self-absorbed countenance, he does not participate directly in the divine interaction of the children, but assumes his role as a thoughtful and protective custodian. Overhead, a choir of seraphim shrouded in heavenly light introduces a note of Rococo grace and sweetness, contrasting with the gravity of the main scene. The red curtain, here in a single angle, is again the resource that frames the scene, giving it a transcendent and theatrical dimension.

Both works, through their refined technique and complex stylistic synthesis, are a perfect reflection of the artistic culture of eighteenth-century Italy: an art that looks to the great masters of the past (Caravaggio, the Bolognese and Roman school) but reinterprets them with a new sensibility, more intimate, elegant and decorative, intended for the intellectual and spiritual enjoyment of the cultivated elites of the time.