Michelangelo Cerquozzi (Rome 1602 – Rome 1660) workshop

Roman school of bamboccianti (mid-17th century)

Oil on canvas

74 x 96 cm.

Framed 88 x 110 cm.

Set in a large square crowded with people in masks and costumes, the painting depicts a jubilant scene during the Carnival celebrations in 17th century Rome, and is therefore a very interesting record of the customs of the time.

The painting is set in Piazza Navona, and the detail on the right of the famous Fountain of the Four Rivers designed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini is clearly recognizable, dominated by the sixteen-meter-high Agonal Obelisk, originally located in the Circus of Maxentius on the Appian Way.

A city event with ancient origins - inspired by the Saturnalia of the ancient Romans, in which slaves were elevated to the rank of masters, subverting the ordinary social order. Starting in the 16th century, Carnival became one of the main celebrations of papal Rome, and one of the richest and most unbridled in Europe, becoming more popular and renowned than the Venetian one during the Renaissance.

It wasn't just a festival, but an integral part of the city's culture: as in ancient times, the Roman oligarchies allowed the population, especially the lower classes, a period dedicated to entertainment. The entire citizenry participated, the lower classes mingled with the powerful, and could even publicly mock them; protected by the anonymity guaranteed by the masks, a sort of leveling of all social divisions was achieved and the authorities and aristocracy were even publicly derided.

People in masks paraded, disguised as characters from the Commedia dell'Arte, especially in the Roman style.

This is how Via Lata (now Via del Corso), Piazza Colonna and Piazza Venezia became the places dedicated to the unfolding of the festival, allowing the people (and also the masked gentlemen) to take possession of the officiality of the festival.

Among the various painters who depicted carnival scenes, a special place is reserved for the Roman Michelangelo Cerquozzi (Rome 1602 - 1660), to whose workshop we can easily trace our work.

Active mainly in Rome, Cerquozzi became known for his affiliation with the Roman Caravaggisti movement - defined as the “Bamboccianti school” - a pictorial movement to which Flemish, Dutch and Italian painters adhered, who preferred simple themes with popular scenes drawn from the daily life of Rome at the time.

And the Carnival, which lent itself perfectly to a narrative iconography of the common people, was therefore a typical subject of the “bambocciata”: in Cerquozzi's production there are several works with a carnival subject, preserved in various museums and collections, as well as many other authors belonging to the current, for example Jan Miel (see Carnival in Rome, 1653, Madrid Museo del Prado), Johannes Lingelbach (see Carnival in Rome, 1650/1651 Kunsthistorisches Museum).

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

The painting is sold complete with a beautiful antique frame and is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity and an iconographic description.

We organize the transportation of the purchased works, both in Italy and abroad, through professional and insured carriers.

If you would like to see this or any other work in person, we would be delighted to welcome you to our new gallery in Riva del Garda, at 18 Viale Giuseppe Canella. We look forward to seeing you!

Please contact us for any information or to organize a visit, we will be happy to answer you.

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