Lot 907 | Holy Family

FRANCIA, GIACOMO
Bologna 1486 - 1557

Title: Holy Family.
Technique: Oil on Wood.
Measurement: 63,5 x 51,5cm.
Frame/Pedestal: Framed.
Provenance:
Private ownership, Germany.

Born in 1486, Giacomo Francia was the eldest son of the famous Bolognese painter Francesco Raibolini, called Francia, and the brother of Giulio, who was also a painter. Francesco Francia initiated both his sons into the art of painting and Giacomo's style (as well as his brother's) became so similar to his father's that his involvement in Francia's complex compositions cannot always be clearly read out.
The present painting shows a classical devotional depiction of the Holy Family, which Francesco Francia produced in many variations and which his son was thus able to study very closely as well as incorporate into his pictorial vocabulary. The attribution of the present painting to Giacomo results from the solidity and robustness of the figures combined with a simplification of formal language that distinguishes him from the more refined and meticulous manner of his father. Although the artist's ductus appears uncertain in places, the panel is characterised by a clean and calm execution, which is also reflected in its good state of preservation.

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