Lot 20: Bartholomeus van Bassen (The Hague c. 1590-1652)

Bartholomeus van Bassen (The Hague c. 1590-1652)
Figures at Mass in a chapel at the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, Rome
signed and dated 'B. van Bassen, 1623' (lower left)
oil on canvas
32 x 46 in. (83.3 x 116.9 cm.)

Anonymous sale; Sotheby's, London, 27 October 1993, lot 6.
with Rafael Valls, London.

PROPERTY FROM A PRIVATE COLLECTION

The present lot is an unusual departure from van Bassen's oeuvre of 'realistic imaginary church' interiors. His paintings normally are of Protestant and Northern churches; however, in this painting, he depicts the left nave and side chapel of Santa Maria Maggiore, Rome. As one of the four patriarchal basilicas in Rome, Santa Maria Maggiore is best known as a pilgrimage site to visit an image of the Virgin, titled Salus Populi Romani (Protectress of the Roman People). This image of the Virgin is housed in the Borghese Chapel, so named for Pope Paul V Borghese (1552-1621), at whose commission the chapel was built. Van Bassen chose this site as the setting for his painting, with various noblemen and a cardinal following Mass on the altar below the icon of Salus Populi Romani. It is likely that he found the interior in one of the published editions of Italian architectural books and print series that he used as a source for material for his paintings.