Madonna And Child With Two Angels, (xvii-xviii) Follower Of Orsola Maddalena Caccia

Artist: (XVII-XVIII) Orsola Maddalena Caccia, Follower of

Title: Madonna and Child with Two Angels

Date: Circa late 17th, early 18th century

Measurements: Overall measurements are 126cm x 94cm x 4 and the painting measured at 110cm x 76cm

Provenance: From a private London collection

The present work depicts the Madonna holding the infant Jesus as two angels look on adoringly. The infant Jesus sits on the lap of the Madonna with arms outstretched. The attention to the role of light is evident, all played out in vivid contrasts, which gives prominence to the painting and creates vivid relationships, with a remarkable rendering of detail.

There is an elegant and refined character to this painting that suggests the painting of a female hand. The delicate features of the Madonna and Child are indicative of a feminine touch. Another artist whose work comes to mind in comparison with this work is Barbara Longhi (1552-1638), although this particular painting appears to be much closer to the work of Orsola Maddalena Caccia.

Orsola Maddalena Caccia, born Theodora Caccia (1596–1676) was an Italian mannerist painter and Catholic nun. She painted religious images, altarpieces, and still lifes Caccia spent the majority of her career running a successful studio in the Ursuline convent in Moncalvo, which was founded by her father in part to house his six daughters.
Orsola's father, painter Guglielmo Caccia, also known as Il Moncalvo, trained her and her sister, Francesca, in his studio.

In 1620, Orsola took her vows at the Convento delle Orsoline in Bianzè, Italy, in the northern region of Piedmont. At the time of her arrival, four of her sisters were already in residence. Bianzé was a fortified outpost between lands governed by the Gonzagas, the dukes of Mantua and Monferrato, and the Duchy of Savoy. Subsequently, its location was between these warring areas.

To find a safe place for his daughters, he sought permission from the Bishop of Casale Monferrato to establish the Ursuline convent at Moncalvo. For this project, he used his own resources—money and the houses he owned. In 1625, Orsola and her sisters transferred to the newly established convent.

A few months later, on April 15, 1625, Guglielmo died. He bequeathed his drawings, set squares, and tools to his daughters for their use at the convent. However, he stipulated that after all six of his daughters died, his belongings should be returned to his male heirs. He also stipulated in his will that Orsola complete an unfinished altarpiece for the Franciscan church of Montalvo. She did finish the work, in addition to taking commissions for other panel paintings for local churches.

Orsola took matters into her own hands when the convent experienced financial problems. She addressed the Duchess of Savoy, Madama Reale Christine of France, in two letters in 1643. Orsola requested an opportunity for paid work. Christine commissioned a Nativity and a Saint John the Baptist. Since commissions earned money for the convent, being able to paint well was a valuable skill. Painting was a vocation for the Ursulines of Moncalvo, and Orsola set up a painting studio within the convent, where she trained other nun artists.

Although influenced by her father’s technique, Orsola elaborated a personal style that is attentive to detail, as well as to developments in Lombard and Flemish painting. Despite executing numerous altarpieces, her fame especially rests in her small, refined cabinet paintings, and on her elegant female saints. Her patrons included both the courts of Savoy and the Gonzaga.

We think the pairing offered most likely to have been composed by a follower of the old master perhaps a student.

Condition report: In fair condition given its age. The painting has work done on it at various times and some more recently. There are several areas of infill to the original canvas with associated areas of overpainting and retouching. There is craquelure commensurate with its age. Supporting conservation boards have been applied to the verso for support. The paint surface is stable and the tonality is still strong. The majority of the retouching is to the Madonna's dress and to the higher background areas.

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