Lot 81: Alessandro Rosi (Florence 1627-1707)

Hagar and the Angel
oil on canvas, made up from an octagon into a rectangle
39 7/8 x 31 5/8 in. (101.3 x 80.3 cm.)

E. Acanfora, Alessandro Rosi, Florence, 1994, p. 79, no. 39, pl. V, fig. 32.

Relatively little is known of Alessandro Rosi's life, and before the appearance of the only full-length study of his oeuvre (E. Acanfora, op. cit.), his work was generally confused with that of other artists including Sigismondo Coccapini. Rosi was a pupil of Cesare Dandini, whose influence can be seen in the present work. Rosi's blend of bold figures and painterly finish found favour with some of the major patrons in Florence at the time, such as the Corsini and Rinuccini, while Cosimo III also commissioned him to design a series of tapestries. Acanfora (loc. cit.) likens the present work to two other pictures by Rosi of Saint Sebastian nursed by Irene, one in the collection of Giovanni Pratesi, Florence and the other location unknown.

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