Christ in Glory with Saints and Odoardo Farnese
Christ in Glory with Saints and Odoardo Farnese or 'Christ in Glory with Odoardo Farnese and Saints Peter, John the Evangelist, Mary Magdalene, Hermenegild and Edward is a painting by
History
It was produced in Rome for
Dating
Its dating is the object of much critical dispute, depending on various interpretations of its significance.
Some argue it was an expression of Odoardo's campaign to be granted the throne of England, then in the balance as
Odoardo's father Alexander Farnese was nephew to Philip II of Spain, who had a particular devotion to another royal saint, Hermenegild, shown in the bottom register opposite Edward. His presence alludes to the House of Farnese's family links to the House of Habsburg, further legitimising Odoardo's dynastic claims via Philip, who had been married to Elizabeth's half-sister Mary I.[2] Supporters of this theory argue that the work must pre-date the final demise of Odoardo's campaign in the early 1600s and that - combined with its style - this places it between 1597 and 1598.[2]
Another theory holds that the work was produced to celebrate Odoardo's appointment as "cardinal protector" of the kingdom of England in February 1600, which would place it in or just after that year.[6]
Destination
The painting's original destination is also heavily debated. It was definitely at Odoardo's chapel at the Eremo di Camaldoli at some point, but it is unclear whether this had always been the work's intended destination or whether it was only placed there later.
For those arguing that the work relates to Odoardo's royal ambitions, the work was sent to Camaldoli some time after its completion, probably after his hopes of becoming King of England had been dashed, making it embarrassing to still have the painting on display in Rome and preferable to hide it away off the beaten track.[2] Those backing the cardinal protector theory, however, argue from the presence of Mary Magdalene to the left of Ermenegild that it was commissioned expressly for the Farnese chapel at the Eremo - she was that chapel's patron saint.[6]
The work's creation seems to be linked to the making of a
Influences
The composition of the upper part of the painting with Christ between saint Peter and saint John is based on Giulio Romano's Deesis with Saint Paul and Saint Catherine (Galleria nazionale di Parma), which itself derived from a drawing by Raphael. Long misattributed to Raphael himself, Romano's painting would have been seen in Parma by Annibale.[5]
The work is also strongly influenced by
References
- ^ "Catalogue page" (in Italian).
- ^ a b c d e f (in Italian) Roberto Zapperi, Odoardo Farnese, principe e cardinale, in Les Carrache et les décors profanes. Actes du colloque de Rome (2-4 octobre 1986), Roma, 1988, pp 335-358.
- ^ "Preparatory drawing in Lille" (in French). Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2020-06-09.
- ^ (in Italian) Tomaso Montanari, Il Barocco, Torino, 2012, p. 64.
- ^ a b Donald Posner, Annibale Carracci: A Study in the reform of Italian Painting around 1590, London, 1971, Vol. II, N. 103, p. 45.
- ^ a b c (in Italian) Silvia Ginzburg, in Annibale Carracci, Catalogo della mostra Bologna e Roma 2006-2007, Milano, 2006, p. 350.
- ^ a b c (in Italian) Silvia Ginzburg, in Annibale Carracci, Catalogo della mostra Bologna e Roma 2006-2007, Milano, 2006, p. 352.
- ^ Ginzburg, op. cit., p. 352
- ^ Aidan Weston-Lewis, Annibale Carracci and the antique, in Master Drawings, XXX, 1992, p. 293.