Beatrice Cenci

Oil on canvas measuring 100 x 70 cm, signed and dated 'D'Albuzzi fecit 1846' lower left. The work is accompanied by an expertise that certifies its iconographic attribution and provides further information about the author, who appears to be a member of the noble Lombard family, with branches in Milan and Varese, of Francesco Antonio Albuzzi, who in 1776 wrote a manuscript entitled "Memorie per servir alla storia d'e' pittori, scultori e architetti milanesi." The story of Beatrice Cenci is a story of violence, injustice, and betrayal, but it tells of the courage of a young woman who lived in the Rome of Clement VIII, the same pope who would condemn her to death, consigning her eternal memory to history. Beatrice Cenci, daughter of the nobleman Francesco Cenci, organized the assassination of her father with her brothers and stepmother to protect her own virtue from his incestuous advances. After simulating the suicide of the parent, the crime was discovered following the denunciation of a repentant domestic. Pope Clement VIII ordered the arrest of the Cenci and after a dramatic trial Beatrice, Lucrezia, Giacomo and Bernardo Cenci were sentenced to death: the first two were beheaded and Giacomo beaten and quartered in front of Castel Sant'Angelo on September 11, 1599. Only Bernardo Cenci was spared, commuting the sentence to 18 years of forced service on the pontifical ships. In this work she is represented locked up in the prisons of Castel Sant'Angelo. In the background appears the silhouette of the Tiber Island with the characteristic Romanesque bell tower of the church of San Bartolomeo all'Isola, while her face reveals the tenacity with which Beatrice resisted the interrogations and tortures. The work measures 100 cm in height, 70 cm in width. For further information do not hesitate to contact me also by phone or Whatsapp at 349.7714423. I can send more photographs and a short video that will help to better understand the characteristics. Read my reviews, CLICK HERE www.faustinimarcoantichita.it