Wooded landscape of the Roman countryside with the Archangel Raphael and Tobiolo

oil painting on canvas

second half of the 17th century

(cm.) 75 x 98, with frame 91 x 115

On the back old label inscribed "Monte dei Paschi di Siena"

The painting has characters clearly linked to the Roman culture of the seventeenth century and, in particular, to the works of Gaspard Dughet, an author who was able to achieve surprising results in describing the Lazio countryside with a unique grace and sensitivity.

Brother-in-law of Nicolas Poussin, of whom he was a pupil, Dughet is to be considered among the most important landscape painters of the Roman Baroque, highly sought after and celebrated by the aristocracy, a reference model for the artists of the following generation, such as Crescenzo Onofri, Jan Frans van Bloemen and Andrea Locatelli. His autonomous production began in the fourth decade, when the artist, following Claude Lorrain and Nicolas Poussin, sought his inspiration by exploring the Roman countryside (he lived for a long time between Tivoli and Grottaferrata), studying its most evocative views from life, the light effects and lush greenery.

The painting in question, of great scenic impact, is a fascinating example of his art: a real but idealized view of the Roman countryside, interpreted with Arcadian sensitivity, where the gaze can go deeper following a rigorous perspective sequence and the cadence of the wings. arboreal.

The landscape also acts as a stage for the biblical episode of the Archangel Raphael who protects and indicates the right path to the boy Tobiolo: the meaning of this iconography has taken on a more extensive meaning over time, thus ending up becoming the emblem of the soul. protected by her guardian angel.

The tree-lined spots executed with a free and quick brushstroke, the warm and burnished colors, the atmospheric rendering of the rising of the mounds of clouds, all in a well-balanced composition of his landscapes of pastoral Arcadian taste, constitute the most significant elements of his painting , all well reproduced also in our canvas.

Some of his works are exhibited at the London National Gallery (link: https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/artists/gaspard-dughet) and at the Prado Museum (link: https://www.museodelprado.es/coleccion/obra-de-arte/magdalena-penitente/f76955ff-059c-47a0-ad81-cce4...)

The painting is in excellent condition, accompanied by a pleasant golden frame.

The work, like all our objects, is sold with a certificate of photographic authenticity in accordance with the law.

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