Holy Family with Saint Anna, Workshop of G.B. Salvi 17th

Giovanni Battista Salvi, known as "Sassoferrato"
(Sassoferrato 1609 - Rome 1685) workshop
"Holy Family with Saint Anna"
Oil painting on canvas
Mid 17th century
Antique golden frame 19th
Canvas 74 x 64 Frame 88 x 78
Work in the first canvas

The painting presents the unmistakable requisites of the devotional representations that made the "Sassoferrato" workshop famous. The remarkable elegance in the description of the protagonists and the serene composure of their expressions convey a feeling of solemn sacredness.
Following the typical dictates of his painting, the composition instills serenity and is free from any message of passion. For this reason his works had a huge success with the public, with a continuous request from private clients for domestic devotion. The "Holy Family" with the addition of S 'Anna is however quite rare in Salvi's repertoire who prefers single Marian representations and with the Child. In fact, we consider the work to be very interesting as well as being of excellent hand. The colors used are the prerogative of his always sparse palette and with the incomparable bright blue that distinguishes the production of his workshop. Finally, a note to the incredible ability of the author to create a play of light and shadow emphasized by the perfection of the shades and the dark background. The Virgin and Child, in the foreground, are radiated by a halo of supernatural light, while the figures of Anna and Joseph, on the sides and in the background, are portrayed in dim light illuminated by a soft light.