F
igline di Prato is only some 30 km. from Florence, so it’s conceivable that the artifact could have easily
reached Florence from there. While I’ve not been able to verify said convent of San Domenico, secular authorities did suppress convents in Tuscany and elsewhere and confiscated their properties during the 18th and 19th
centuries.
Comparison with other works by
Reni reveals some compelling but
puzzling similarities. A general
similarity can be observed with
the angel of his Annunciation
(circa 1629) in Ascoli Piceno,
which was commissioned for the
chapel of Santa Maria della Carità.
But the drapery is different and
the Philpot version seems to lack
the delicacy of the Ascoli Piceno
picture. A closer relationship can
be found with an engraving by
Sir Robert Strange (1721–1792)
after an angel of the Annunciation in a painting said to have
been by Reni. It belonged to a
certain Charles Chauncy, M.D.
(1706–1777), a surgeon remembered as a collector of paintings
and other art objects. The print
shows the subject in reverse but
when rotated it seems to demonstrate a closer affinity with both
the physiognomy in Reni’s 1629
painting and the drapery in the
Philpot and Jackson fragment.
While the present location of the
Chauncy picture remains elusive,
its popular influence is evident in
numerous Victorian cameos that
were produced in that period.
Where the painting in question
here fits in the Annunciation lineage, though, remains a mystery.
It seems more closely derived
Engraving by Sir Robert Strange after Guido Reni
from the angel in Strange’s engrav- Photo: Public Domain
ing, but whoever painted it could
not have seen that. Guido Reni had a large workshop to meet the demand for his work. Leading experts in 17th
century painting whom I have contacted have expressed skepticism over attribution to Reni, suggesting that this
is more likely “Workshop of.” Could it have been modeled after a drawing by the master in preparation for the
painting in Sir Robert Strange’s engraving? The jury is still out.
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