Angels With A Scroll / Angels With A Book, Guglielmo Caccia "il Moncalvo"

Guglielmo Caccia, known as “il Moncalvo” (Monabone, 1568 – Moncalvo, 1625) Attributed to
Pair of paintings: Angels with a scroll / Angels with a book

Oils on canvas (50 x 60 cm. – In an antique frame: 68 x 82 cm.)

Reference bibliography: “Il Moncalvo e la sua bottega,” Linelab Edizioni, 2025.

DETAILS OF THE WORKS (click HERE)

As part of the flourishing painting career of Guglielmo Caccia, known as Il Moncalvo (1568–1625)—which took place primarily in Piedmont and Lombardy—his putti, depicted in a wide variety of poses, enjoyed great success, giving rise to a highly popular theme that finds truly significant expression in the pair of paintings presented here.

Drawings featuring cherubs and putti are, in fact, a hallmark of Moncalvo’s work, which is hardly surprising given their frequent and numerous appearances in his paintings. Almost always, his large altarpieces are a festive riot of chubby putti with rosy cheeks and soft blond curls, who soar through the sky and enliven even the most composed scenes in the paintings with their playful, childlike demeanor.

In this case, we see two pairs of small winged cherubs: the first pair is seated on a flight of steps, completely absorbed in reading an open book they hold in their hands, the second pair seated on a finely damascened cushion, intent on holding up and consulting a long scroll resembling a musical score.

The works highlight the unmistakable stylistic characteristics, as well as the technical quality typical of Moncalvo’s work. Trained in the Vercelli school, he masterfully reinterpreted Renaissance and Mannerist models in accordance with the tastes of the Piedmontese and Lombard Counter-Reformation.

Among his primary influences, we can mention, for example, Perino del Vaga (Florence, 1501 – Rome, 1547), a leading figure of Mannerism and a pupil of Raphael, who was also active in Genoa: we know, in fact, that the influence of his pictorial style reached Moncalvo both through the circulation of prints and drawings and through contacts between the Ligurian art scene and the Mannerist painters of neighboring Lombardy. Moncalvo must necessarily have seen his “Enthroned Madonna with Child and Saints” in the church of St. George in Genoa, from which he drew inspiration and reworked the two cherubs positioned at the base of the scene (Fig. 1, detail of preparatory drawing).

We can then review, for comparison, several works by Moncalvo (and his close circle) in which choirs or figures of cherubs stand out: among these, the “St. Michael the Archangel Surrounded by Angels” at the Pinacoteca dell’Accademia Albertina in Turin (Fig. 3) and the altarpiece depicting the Immaculate Madonna and Angels in Villanova d’Asti (Fig. 4). We can also add *Mary Magdalene with Angels* (Fig. 5), *The Annunciation* (Fig. 6), and *Angels as Musicians* (Fig. 7), all from the State Collection in Milan.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

In good condition with antique frames.

The works are sold complete with a certificate of authenticity and a descriptive iconographic sheet.

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