Carlo Ceresa

CARLO CERESA (Bergamo, 1609 - 1679).
"Old woman spinner".
Oil on canvas. Relined of the XVIII century.
It conserves frame of epoch.
Measurements: 130 x 86 cm; 146 x 103 cm (frame).
In this canvas the author captures a portrait that goes beyond the representation of gender, of a popular character, through the psychological deepening and the attention to the character's features, whose expressive face becomes the absolute center of the image. It is a very simple and sober composition, of naturalistic heritage, with the figure in the foreground, at a large size, in fact, the figure even goes out of the painting, cut out on a neutral background and more illuminated plane around the woman and with areas of half-light. The overall intonation, very restrained and warm, also reveals great sobriety; it revolves around the earthy, ochre and reddish tones of naturalism, punctuated by touches of a very nuanced white. Nevertheless, it is a key element for the modeling of the face, its details, small wrinkles and expression, of joyful complicity, which integrates the viewer into the pictorial space. In addition, the face is doubly enhanced by the fact that it is framed by the black scarf, whose dark tone further enhances its direct illumination. The woman appears with her body slightly turned in three quarters, but on the other hand, she turns her face to face us. This posture, very studied, introduces movement to the scene, and does so with ease, without apparent effort, achieving a result of great naturalism. In addition, this position of the body breaks with the symmetry and frontality of the conventional portrait, something that is reinforced by the position of the hands, which are raised on the left side of the painting to hold the wool and the spindle.
The piece is aesthetically reminiscent of works by Carlo Ceresa, pupil and then assistant of the Milanese painter Daniele Crespi, whose style and vocabulary remained in his work after the death of the master in 1630. He was active in the Bergamo area and produced a large number of religious works characterized by great sobriety and a discreet approach combined with the vivid color of the Veneto school. He was also a skilled portraitist whose services were sought after by the city's noble families. The naturalism that pervades the depiction of his subjects recalls the work of Moroni and awaits Fra Galgario and Ceruti (Pitochetto).