ANTONIO VIVARINI (DOC. VENETO, 1440/1476/1484)

Lot 2
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Estimation :
200000 - 300000 EUR
Result with fees
Result : 896 800EUR
ANTONIO VIVARINI (DOC. VENETO, 1440/1476/1484)
The Annunciation Tempera on wood panel and gilded stucco 1449-1450 98 x 90 cm RELATED BIBLIOGRAPHY Gino Fogolari, La chiesa di Santa Maria della Carità di Venezia (ora sede delle Regie Gallerie dell'Accademia di Venezia). Unpublished documents by Bartolomeo Bon, di Antonio Vivarini, di Ercole del Fiore e di altri artisti, "Archivio Veneto-Tridentino", V, 1924, pp. 9-10, pp. 57-118 Rodolfo Palluchini, I Vivarini: Antonio, Bartolomeo, Alvise, Venice, N. Pozza, Saggi e studi di storia dell'arte, 1961, 153 pp. Giandomenico Romanelli, I Vivarini: lo splendore della pittura tra Gotico e Rinascimento (...), Venice, Marsilio, 2016, 167 pp. Mattia Vinco, Antonio Vivarini in San Zanipolo a Venezia. Iconografia e nuovi documenti, Florence, De Stijl, 2018, 56 p. The Annunciation We find the innovative dimension of the Work in particular in the illusionist construction of the space between feigned and painted architecture. The landscaped background, moreover, abandons the golden background inherited from the international Gothic period, which would later fade away. Inspired by contemporary architecture, it is likely that the buildings that can be seen behind the wall were visible in Padua or Venice. It is with delight that we browse the rich iconography implemented in the composition where each element is significant. The little white rabbits on the left and the closed vegetable garden hidden behind the central column evoke virginal purity. This very column, impressive in its construction, is the Incarnation. It is the structural intermediary between God the Father and the dove of the Holy Spirit that he sends to touch Mary with his grace. The angel is the herald of the divine who will become man among men. On earth, he will be the good shepherd leading his sheep, whose flock is represented on the left; and whose destiny is to die for them on the Cross of Mount Golgotha, represented perhaps by the high hill in the right archway. The Resurrection, discreet but very much present, is suggested by the presence of the peacock, an animal whose feathers fall and grow back each year. If this enumeration of symbols is not exhaustive, it suggests a whole iconographic and perhaps iconological discourse to be studied. Provenance With regard to the context of its creation, it is very likely that the Annunciation is one of the works described by Carlo Ridolfi in his book La Maraviglie dell'arte (Venice, 1648, p. 21). There he dedicates an entire chapter to Giovanni and Antonio Vivarini and mentions an Annunciation made for Santa Maria della Carità in Venice. Later, in 1807, the church and the nearby Scuola The church and the neighbouring Scuola Grande were merged to form the Gallerie dell'Academia. A major renovation of the church and the Scuola took place from 1441 to 1463 under the impetus of Pope Eugene IV (1383 - 1447) and the Venetian Gabriele Condulmer, a period during which many artists worked together and whose names have been found by Gino Fogolari: the sculptors Panteleone di Paolo, Donatello (1386 - 1466), the painters Ercole del Fiore and the Flemish Petrus Christus (active between 1444 - 1475/1476). Among them are mentioned the names of Antonio Vivarini, who was commissioned to paint the high altar of the church. Giovanni Bellini is also mentioned as having worked with his workshop between 1462 and 1464 on four triptychs of the rood screen of the church. Thus, Fogolari's publication seems to confirm what Ridolfi wrote in 1648, since he reports that Antonio Vivarini received forty ducats for an Annunciation. The fact that d'Alemagna is not mentioned is not surprising, since he must have died before the payment was made. This Annunciation by Antonio Vivarini and Giovanni d'Alemagna is an exceptional work, both in terms of its workmanship, its context of creation and its innovative aspects, and is a dazzling legacy of Venetian painting of the Quattrocento. ANTONIO VIVARINI AND GIOVANNI D'ALEMAGNA Antonio Vivarini (doc. Veneto, 1440/1476/1484) Giovanni d'Alemagna (doc. Veneto, 1441 - 23 July 1449/ 9 June 1450) The Annunciation We present an extraordinary and unpublished Annunciation from the Venetian Quattrocento. Probably made around 1449-1450, it is the work of the painters Antonio Vivarini and Giovanni d'Alemagna and belongs to a corpus of works testifying to major developments. The catalogue record has been written with the help of elements provided by Mattia Vinco. Read more in the e-catalogue
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