Lot 513 | Barbara Longhi | Holy Martyr (St Justina of Padua?)

LONGHI, BARBARA
Ravenna 1552 - 1638

attributed
Title: Holy Martyr (St Justina of Padua?).
Technique: Oil on canvas.
Mounting: Relined.
Measurement: 38 x 29.5cm.
Frame/Pedestal: Framed.

Verso:
On the canvas old collection name with former attribution to Perugino.

Provenance:
Private ownership, Germany.

The present painting, due to its style, can be attributed to a renowned artist who was active between the 16th and 17th centuries: Barbara Longhi.
Barbara was born in Ravenna in 1552, the daughter of the painter Luca Longhi, and already distinguished herself as a portrait painter during her training period. Not much survives of her work, which, at least during the early period, is due to her working in her father's workshop, where she mainly produced small works with religious themes for private devotion. Barbara's works are characterized by a simplification of forms and a greater emphasis on emotion than those of her father. The present Holy Martyr belongs to Barbara's production related to her father's workshop: The painting is indeed reminiscent of Luca Longhi's Saint Catherine, of which at least three versions are known. It must therefore have been a successful prototype, repeated also by his daughter Barbara.
Based on the iconographic attributes, a dagger in the chest and a palm tree in the hand, the sitter could be identified with St. Justina of Padua (+ c. 304 in Padua). Justina was a virgin and martyr of the early Church.

We are grateful to Daniele Benati, Bologna, for confirming the attribution of the present painting based on a high-resolution digital photograph.