Napoleone Parisani (1854–1932) The Madonna Of Blandusi (madonna Di Blandusi) Oil On Canvas

Napoleone PARISANI (1854–1932)
The Madonna of Blandusi (Madonna di Blandusi)
Oil on canvas
Signed and dated 1909
Height: 25 cm, Width: 20 cm
In very good condition.
Count Napoleone Parisani (1854–1932), great-grandson of Lucien Bonaparte, was a distinctive and influential figure on the Roman art scene at the turn of the 20th century. Whilst he is particularly renowned for his evocative landscapes of the Roman countryside – having co-founded the group known as the ‘XXV della campagna romana’ – he also distinguished himself as a brilliant society portraitist and history painter. Painted in Rome in 1909, this moving sacred mother-and-child painting, entitled *The Virgin of Blandusi*, bears witness to the artist’s religious devotion and refined aesthetic sensibility. Here, Parisani employs a meticulous and smooth technique, characteristic of his style, which he inherited from the great masters of the Italian Renaissance. The Virgin’s face, imbued with a gentle melancholy, echoes the purity of the Infant Jesus nestled against her; both are set off by finely decorated golden halos that contrast with the landscape of hills and classical architecture in the background. The work is enhanced by its rich original frame, carved from and gilded with wood.