ANTON DOMENICO GABBIANI (Florence, 1652-1726)."Glorification of a holy nun".Oil on canvas.With

ANTON DOMENICO GABBIANI (Florence, 1652-1726).
"Glorification of a holy nun".
Oil on canvas.
With reinforced stretcher.
Attached study by the historian Paolo Erasmo Mangianto (1989).
Measurements: 230 x 184 cm.
Provenance: At the end of the 16th century, the Marquis of Castellbell, Manuel de Amat y Juniet, returns to Barcelona with the fortune that he had made during the period that he was, first, governor of Chile (1755 -1761) and, later, Viceroy of Peru (1761 - 1776). He had the Palacio de la Virreina built between 1772 and 1778. The building, located on La Rambla Sant Josep, is one of the finest examples of Catalan civil Baroque architecture.
The Palau de la Virreina remained linked to the Amat family until 1835 when it was acquired by its administrator, Josep Carreras de Argerich. The Palace belonged to the Carreras family until 1944 when it was bought by Barcelona City Council. After this sale, the work was transferred from this building to the new residence of the heirs of Josep Carreras d'Argerich, in the Maresme area, and was deposited and exhibited in the chapel of the estate, later being acquired by the current owner.
This altarpiece depicts the Glorification of a holy nun and her reception into heaven by Jesus Christ. According to a study of this work by Paolo Erasmo Mangianto, it was made by Anton Domenico Gabbiani in the second half of the 16th century for a private chapel. He notes the similarity with other altarpieces executed by the Florentine master during this period, in which the saint kneels and is welcomed by the heavenly court, presided over by the Virgin and Christ, surrounded by a court of angels. This compositional model is repeated in his Glorifications of Saints: the nun, in an attitude of devotion, is welcomed by a halo of angels. The angels carry cult and pastoral symbols. The delicate anatomy of the fingers and the folds of the drapery help to determine the artist's attribution, as do the chromatic qualities and the high quality of execution. Mangianto states that this Glorification is among his most accomplished works. The breaking of Gloria with an ascensional theme was particularly fruitful during the Baroque period. On this occasion, the abbey staff carried by the angels and the saint's black habit suggest that she may be Gertrude Magna. In the manner of a mystical vision, the saint is received with paternal love by the Lord, who draws her to his bosom. The Father is surrounded by archangels, and a court of seraphim radiate from the golden divine halo. The ascensional theme allowed the painter to express with great scenographic power the sublimity of assumptions and spiritual ecstasies. In this painting by Gabbiani, the bodies are endowed with great sculptural presence and volumetric entity, but without losing their ethereal condition, which denotes his mastery. There are stylistic and compositional affinities with other works by the artist, such as the paintings of the Villa Medici in Poggio, or the glorification of the Corsini family. The oil painting is in the best tradition of the Florentine school, in which meticulous draughtsmanship is combined with expressive chiaroscuro work. A painter of the late Italian Baroque, Anton Domenico Gabbiani was a pupil of Sustermans, a Flemish painter in the service of the Medici, but Gabbiani's later training was manifold and varied. In addition to his first contact with Flemish painting, he studied in the studio of the Florentine Vincenzo Dandini and in 1673 he went to Rome, where he was paid by the Accademia Medicea. His knowledge, through his master Ciro Ferri, of the Roman Cortonese atmosphere, is tinged with the rigour and balance of the classicist tendency of the second half of the 17th century in Rome, represented by Carlo Maratti. After a brief stay in Venice, Gabbiani returned to Florence; a member of the Accademia del Disegno and at the head of an important workshop, he became