(Forli, circa 1460–1516 Ravenna?)
God the father surrounded by Angels,
oil on panel, 73 x 53 cm, framed

We are grateful to Andrea De Marchi for suggesting the attribution of the present painting.

Carrari was active between Ravenna and Forlì during the years from 1486 to 1516. He is considered among the leading exponents of late Quattrocento figurative culture in the region of Emilia Romagna.

The painter’s early formation derived from the art of Ferrara and Forlì, as exemplified by Melozzo and Palmezzano, while later in his career he was to find guidance from the art of Ravenna influenced by Venice and particularly by the followers of Bellini, most notably Nicolò Rondinelli (see: A. Tempestini, Bellini e i Belliniani in Romagna, Florence 1998, pp. 121-131).

The only signed and dated work by Baldassare Carrai is the altarpiece with the Coronation of the Virgin with Saints executed in 1512 for the high altar of the Abbey of San Mercuriale, and now conserved in the Pinacoteca Comunale, Forlì; this work signals a return to the examples of Palmezzano and the figurative culture of Emilia Romagna. Especially notable among the artist’s other works are the Madonna and Child between Saints in the Pinacoteca di Brera, Milan and the lunette representing God the Father with Seraphim and Two Putti in the collection of the Banca d’Italia, Perugia.