Felice Cignani

Round painting with a diameter of 130 cm and a size of 160 x 160 cm with a wonderful frame depicting an allegory of the Earth by the painter Felice Cignani (Bologna 1660 – 1724). Painting, oil on canvas, Cignani, the painter who painted it about 400 years ago, did not intend to represent our planet, but rather the natural element that, together with fire, air and water, makes up the Universe, according to the idea of the world handed down by the ancients. In the painting, the Earth has the appearance of a goddess who governs the cycles of nature and generously offers her fruits to cherubs who take care of them, protecting her and working diligently. The chromatic impact is beautiful with these light and warm tones that blend with the peace and tranquility of Nature. The painting has typically Bolognese features; Felice Cignani reached excellent qualitative peaks in describing the Emilian countryside with grace and sensitivity, exhibiting a clear similarity with the works of Francesco Albani and his father Carlo; the canvas in question is a shining example of his art with a real but idealized view of the Bolognese countryside interpreted with Arcadian sensitivity and classical concreteness. The wooded patches executed with a free and quick brushstroke, the warm burnished colors, the atmospheric rendering of the rising cumulus clouds, the physicality of the cherubs, all in a well-balanced composition of his pastoral Arcadian landscapes, constitute the most significant elements of his painting, all well represented also in our canvas. In the extraordinary pictorial staging, the skillful setting in a primordial and idyllic natural glimpse, perfectly organized in relation to the lively and crowded parade of characters, in which an effective sense of movement and a beautiful effect of depth are imprinted, acquires great significance. These are compositions that enjoyed enormous critical success and were extraordinarily praised by European collectors for their aesthetic and decorative value, in which myth and nature find full landscape ideality. The paintings and art objects published here are my exclusive property and consequently are always available to be viewed in person, by appointment, in my exhibition venues located in Sanremo and Brescia. The work, like all our objects, is sold with a FIMA photographic certificate of authenticity and lawful origin; this document identifies the object, adding value to the item. We personally take care of and organize the packaging and shipping of works of art with insurance worldwide. Dr. Riccardo Moneghini Art Historian