Lot No. 362


Bartolomeo Manfredi


Bartolomeo Manfredi - Old Master Paintings

(Ostiano 1582–1622 Rome)
The Martyrdom of Saint Bartholomew,
oil on canvas, 120 x 150 cm, framed

Provenance:
possibly Piero Guicciardini collection, Rome, as one of two paintings purchased in 1621 as ‘due quadri con tre figure per ciascuno’ (see literature, G. Papi 2013);
Private collection, Milan;
and thence by descent to the present owner

Exhibited:
Cremona, S. Maria della Pietà, Dopo Caravaggio: Bartolomeo Manfredi e la Manfrediana Methodus, 7 May - 7 July 1987, no. 12

Literature:
R. Longhi, Ultimi studi sul Caravaggio e la sua cerchia, in: Proporzioni, 1943, p. 25, no. 55 ill.;
B. Nicolson, Caravaggism in Europe, 1979, vol. I, p. 144, vol. II, fig. 293;
Matthiesen Fine Art Ltd, Important Italian Baroque Paintings, 1600-1700, exhibition catalogue, London 1981, p. 14;
A. Moir, An Examination of Bartolomeo Manfredi’s ‘Cupid Chastised’, in: Art Institute of Chicago Museum Studies, vol. 11, no. 2, 1985, p. 160;
M. Gregori/G. Merlo, in: Dopo Caravaggio: Bartolomeo Manfredi e la Manfrediana Methodus, ed. by M. Gregori et al., exhibition catalogue, Cremona 1987, p. 25, pp. 80-81, no. 12, ill.;
W. Prohaska, in: Opus Sacrum: Catalogue of the Exhibition from the Collection of Barbara Piasecka Johnson, ed. by J. Grabski, exhibition catalogue, Warsaw 1990, p. 193;
G. Merlo, in: Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio e i suoi primi seguaci, ed. by M. Gregori, exhibition catalogue, Thessaloniki 1997, p. 216;
N. Hartje, Bartolomeo Manfredi (1582-1622). Ein Nachfolger Caravaggios und seine europäische Wirkung, Weimar 2004, p. 356, no. A30, p. 480,
no. 19;
G. Papi, Manfredi: la cattura di Cristo, Turin 2004, pp. 31-32;
G. Papi, Bartolomeo Manfredi, Soncino 2013, p. 190, no. 58, p. 208, fig. 16

The present painting, which was traditionally attributed to Caravaggio, was first given to Bartolomeo Manfredi by Roberto Longhi (see literature). Manfredi was one of the first followers of Caravaggio and Longhi must have believed this painting to be of particular importance for the reconstruction of Manfredi’s career, since he intended to include it in his important exhibition on Caravaggio and his circle held in Milan in 1951: however, owing to technical issues this was not possible (see Merlo 1987 in literature).
The attribution to Manfredi has been subsequently confirmed by other scholars, however, the dating of the present painting has been debated. As no paintings by Manfredi are signed or dated, the chronology of his works is difficult to establish. Moir (see literature) believed the present painting to be an early work by the artist, recalling Manfredi’s master Cristoforo Roncalli, while for Merlo (1987, see literature) and Hartje (see literature) the present composition should be dated to the final years of the second decade of the seventeenth century, owing to its stylistic similarities with the Springfield Crowning with Thorns. Later, Merlo (1997, see literature) proposed dating this work to Manfredi’s final years in the 1620s, as has Prohaska (see literature) and Papi (2013, see literature). Papi additionally states that this work is among the last made by the artist. Indeed, Manfredi’s works from his final years are characterised by the use of a grey-brown palette, predominantly representing dramatically expressive three-quarter length figures, such is apparent in the present composition.

The Martyrdom of Saint Bartholomew was frequently represented during the seventeenth century, however, Bartolomeo Manfredi here adopts a highly unusual compositional scheme for the subject, choosing to develop it horizontally, in a manner more reminiscent of representations of the Flagellation of Christ. It is not incidental that the present painting was compared by Giuliano Briganti to Manfredi’s Flagellation of Christ, formerly in the Barbara Piasecka Johnson collection, Princeton (see Matthiesen in literature), with which it shares a similar compositional arrangement, and almost the same dimensions – factors that subsequently led Prohaska to suggest that the present Saint Bartholomew and the Flagellation were intended as a pair. Without excluding this possibility, Papi has further suggested that the present painting may be identified as one of the ‘due quadri contre figure per ciascuno’ [‘two paintings each with three figures’] that Piero Guicciardini, Cosimo II Medici’s ambassador to Rome, purchased for his collection in 1621 (see Papi 2013 in literature). A painting by Bartolomeo Manfredi of Saint Bartholomew is mentioned in the collection of the Duke in Modena in 1657 (see F. Scanelli, Il microcosmo della pittura, Cesena, 1657, p. 202).

The composition of the present painting is played out in a bold symmetrical arrangement with the two torturers flanking the centrally positioned Saint, who is shown turning his gaze to the heavens with
calm resignation. The light falls from a single source above, on the upper left of the canvas, creating a vivid contrast of chiaroscuro that divides the scene diagonally and is reminiscent of, for example, the Denial of Saint Peter in the Herzog Anton Ulrich Museum, Brunswick.

Bartolomeo Manfredi was Caravaggio’s most important follower in early seventeenth century Rome. He was originally from Northern Italy and is documented in Rome in 1610, although he may have arrived there as early as 1605. It was here that he first encountered the dramatic, innovative style of Caravaggio. However, rather than being a simple, servile follower of Caravaggio, Manfredi himself was an innovator, and his dramatically lit compositions, such as the present work, were to have a profound impact.

Manfredi’s reinterpretation of Caravaggio’s naturalism and dramatic use of ‘chiaroscuro’ were praised by his contemporaries and he, in turn, was imitated by other Roman Caravaggisti during the first decades of the seventeenth century. Mancini commented that Bartolomeo Manfredi painted: ‘nella maniera di Caravaggio, ma con più fine unione e dolcezza […] e, veduto il colorito del Caravaggio, si messe ad operar per quella strada, ma con più diligenza e fine, nel qual modo ha fatto progresso tale che adesso le sue opere sono in grandissima stima’ [‘in the same manner as Caravaggio but with more harmony and sweetness (…) and he worked with the same colouring as Caravaggio, but with more diligence and his works today are greatly esteemed] (G. Mancini, Considerazioni sulla pittura, ed. by A. Marucchi, Rome 1956-1957, I,
p. 251).

Manfredi was probably the most influential artist in transmitting Caravaggio’s legacy to the next generation of artists from all over Europe, but he particularly influenced the French and Dutch artists who came to Rome. Nicolas Tournier and Nicolas Régnier were among his pupils and other painters who followed his style were Valentin de Boulogne, and in Netherlands Gerhard Seghers, Dirk Van Baburen, Gerrit Van Honthorst and Hendrick Terbrugghen, all of whom would disseminate this style in their native lands. The effect was so marked and immediate that a near contemporary and fellow artist called the phenomenon the ‘Manfrediana methodus’. Joachim von Sandrart in his work Teutsche Academie, used the term ‘Manfredi Manier’ to describe the paintings of the Flemish artist Gerard Seghers and also wrote that Nicolas Régnier worked in the ‘methodum’ of Manfredi. The style of Manfredi, or ‘Manfrediana Methodus’, is characterised by the depiction of half-length figures, actual size, with subjects imitating nature with the greatest truth (J. von Sandrart, Teutsche Academie der Bau-, Bild- und Mahlerey-Künste (1675), ed. by A. R. Peltzer, Munich 1925, p. 277). Manfredi was admired and imitated because of his manner in capturing human nature through direct observation and portraying everyday events with uncommon sensitivity.

30.04.2019 - 17:00

Realized price: **
EUR 344,900.-
Estimate:
EUR 300,000.- to EUR 400,000.-

Bartolomeo Manfredi


(Ostiano 1582–1622 Rome)
The Martyrdom of Saint Bartholomew,
oil on canvas, 120 x 150 cm, framed

Provenance:
possibly Piero Guicciardini collection, Rome, as one of two paintings purchased in 1621 as ‘due quadri con tre figure per ciascuno’ (see literature, G. Papi 2013);
Private collection, Milan;
and thence by descent to the present owner

Exhibited:
Cremona, S. Maria della Pietà, Dopo Caravaggio: Bartolomeo Manfredi e la Manfrediana Methodus, 7 May - 7 July 1987, no. 12

Literature:
R. Longhi, Ultimi studi sul Caravaggio e la sua cerchia, in: Proporzioni, 1943, p. 25, no. 55 ill.;
B. Nicolson, Caravaggism in Europe, 1979, vol. I, p. 144, vol. II, fig. 293;
Matthiesen Fine Art Ltd, Important Italian Baroque Paintings, 1600-1700, exhibition catalogue, London 1981, p. 14;
A. Moir, An Examination of Bartolomeo Manfredi’s ‘Cupid Chastised’, in: Art Institute of Chicago Museum Studies, vol. 11, no. 2, 1985, p. 160;
M. Gregori/G. Merlo, in: Dopo Caravaggio: Bartolomeo Manfredi e la Manfrediana Methodus, ed. by M. Gregori et al., exhibition catalogue, Cremona 1987, p. 25, pp. 80-81, no. 12, ill.;
W. Prohaska, in: Opus Sacrum: Catalogue of the Exhibition from the Collection of Barbara Piasecka Johnson, ed. by J. Grabski, exhibition catalogue, Warsaw 1990, p. 193;
G. Merlo, in: Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio e i suoi primi seguaci, ed. by M. Gregori, exhibition catalogue, Thessaloniki 1997, p. 216;
N. Hartje, Bartolomeo Manfredi (1582-1622). Ein Nachfolger Caravaggios und seine europäische Wirkung, Weimar 2004, p. 356, no. A30, p. 480,
no. 19;
G. Papi, Manfredi: la cattura di Cristo, Turin 2004, pp. 31-32;
G. Papi, Bartolomeo Manfredi, Soncino 2013, p. 190, no. 58, p. 208, fig. 16

The present painting, which was traditionally attributed to Caravaggio, was first given to Bartolomeo Manfredi by Roberto Longhi (see literature). Manfredi was one of the first followers of Caravaggio and Longhi must have believed this painting to be of particular importance for the reconstruction of Manfredi’s career, since he intended to include it in his important exhibition on Caravaggio and his circle held in Milan in 1951: however, owing to technical issues this was not possible (see Merlo 1987 in literature).
The attribution to Manfredi has been subsequently confirmed by other scholars, however, the dating of the present painting has been debated. As no paintings by Manfredi are signed or dated, the chronology of his works is difficult to establish. Moir (see literature) believed the present painting to be an early work by the artist, recalling Manfredi’s master Cristoforo Roncalli, while for Merlo (1987, see literature) and Hartje (see literature) the present composition should be dated to the final years of the second decade of the seventeenth century, owing to its stylistic similarities with the Springfield Crowning with Thorns. Later, Merlo (1997, see literature) proposed dating this work to Manfredi’s final years in the 1620s, as has Prohaska (see literature) and Papi (2013, see literature). Papi additionally states that this work is among the last made by the artist. Indeed, Manfredi’s works from his final years are characterised by the use of a grey-brown palette, predominantly representing dramatically expressive three-quarter length figures, such is apparent in the present composition.

The Martyrdom of Saint Bartholomew was frequently represented during the seventeenth century, however, Bartolomeo Manfredi here adopts a highly unusual compositional scheme for the subject, choosing to develop it horizontally, in a manner more reminiscent of representations of the Flagellation of Christ. It is not incidental that the present painting was compared by Giuliano Briganti to Manfredi’s Flagellation of Christ, formerly in the Barbara Piasecka Johnson collection, Princeton (see Matthiesen in literature), with which it shares a similar compositional arrangement, and almost the same dimensions – factors that subsequently led Prohaska to suggest that the present Saint Bartholomew and the Flagellation were intended as a pair. Without excluding this possibility, Papi has further suggested that the present painting may be identified as one of the ‘due quadri contre figure per ciascuno’ [‘two paintings each with three figures’] that Piero Guicciardini, Cosimo II Medici’s ambassador to Rome, purchased for his collection in 1621 (see Papi 2013 in literature). A painting by Bartolomeo Manfredi of Saint Bartholomew is mentioned in the collection of the Duke in Modena in 1657 (see F. Scanelli, Il microcosmo della pittura, Cesena, 1657, p. 202).

The composition of the present painting is played out in a bold symmetrical arrangement with the two torturers flanking the centrally positioned Saint, who is shown turning his gaze to the heavens with
calm resignation. The light falls from a single source above, on the upper left of the canvas, creating a vivid contrast of chiaroscuro that divides the scene diagonally and is reminiscent of, for example, the Denial of Saint Peter in the Herzog Anton Ulrich Museum, Brunswick.

Bartolomeo Manfredi was Caravaggio’s most important follower in early seventeenth century Rome. He was originally from Northern Italy and is documented in Rome in 1610, although he may have arrived there as early as 1605. It was here that he first encountered the dramatic, innovative style of Caravaggio. However, rather than being a simple, servile follower of Caravaggio, Manfredi himself was an innovator, and his dramatically lit compositions, such as the present work, were to have a profound impact.

Manfredi’s reinterpretation of Caravaggio’s naturalism and dramatic use of ‘chiaroscuro’ were praised by his contemporaries and he, in turn, was imitated by other Roman Caravaggisti during the first decades of the seventeenth century. Mancini commented that Bartolomeo Manfredi painted: ‘nella maniera di Caravaggio, ma con più fine unione e dolcezza […] e, veduto il colorito del Caravaggio, si messe ad operar per quella strada, ma con più diligenza e fine, nel qual modo ha fatto progresso tale che adesso le sue opere sono in grandissima stima’ [‘in the same manner as Caravaggio but with more harmony and sweetness (…) and he worked with the same colouring as Caravaggio, but with more diligence and his works today are greatly esteemed] (G. Mancini, Considerazioni sulla pittura, ed. by A. Marucchi, Rome 1956-1957, I,
p. 251).

Manfredi was probably the most influential artist in transmitting Caravaggio’s legacy to the next generation of artists from all over Europe, but he particularly influenced the French and Dutch artists who came to Rome. Nicolas Tournier and Nicolas Régnier were among his pupils and other painters who followed his style were Valentin de Boulogne, and in Netherlands Gerhard Seghers, Dirk Van Baburen, Gerrit Van Honthorst and Hendrick Terbrugghen, all of whom would disseminate this style in their native lands. The effect was so marked and immediate that a near contemporary and fellow artist called the phenomenon the ‘Manfrediana methodus’. Joachim von Sandrart in his work Teutsche Academie, used the term ‘Manfredi Manier’ to describe the paintings of the Flemish artist Gerard Seghers and also wrote that Nicolas Régnier worked in the ‘methodum’ of Manfredi. The style of Manfredi, or ‘Manfrediana Methodus’, is characterised by the depiction of half-length figures, actual size, with subjects imitating nature with the greatest truth (J. von Sandrart, Teutsche Academie der Bau-, Bild- und Mahlerey-Künste (1675), ed. by A. R. Peltzer, Munich 1925, p. 277). Manfredi was admired and imitated because of his manner in capturing human nature through direct observation and portraying everyday events with uncommon sensitivity.


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Auction: Old Master Paintings
Auction type: Saleroom auction
Date: 30.04.2019 - 17:00
Location: Vienna | Palais Dorotheum
Exhibition: 20.04. - 30.04.2019


** Purchase price incl. charges and taxes

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