Alessandro Valdani (1712 - 1773), attributed to, Ascent to Calvary

Alessandro Valdani (1712 - 1773), attributed to. Ascent to Calvary Oil on canvas glued on panel, 50 x 39.5 cm With frame, 61 x 51 cm Critical Report by Prof. Simonetta Coppa Pictured is Christ crowned with thorns, in a blue mantle and pink-red robe, carrying the cross on his shoulder; in front of him, in the foreground, an executioner in a brownish-yellow robe and blue mantle holds an iron mace and sticks his tongue out at Christ in a mocking gesture, while in the background, on the left, a soldier with a helmet on his head can be glimpsed, and on the right, a woman's profile stands out, with a blue mantle and white wimple (the Virgin or Veronica). Born in Chiasso in 1712, Valdani trained at the school of the Varese painter Pietro Antonio Magatti (1691-1767), a prominent exponent of the Lombard Rococo. Magatti, whose production was characterized by the ability to expertly decorate chapels and ossuaries, profoundly influenced the young Valdani, transmitting to him not only the pictorial techniques but also a certain thematic approach. Magatti's activity, which extended to Gravedona, Valtellina and Cepina di Valdisotto, attests to his importance in the artistic panorama of the time and his role as a precursor in the decoration of votive spaces linked to the theme of death and transience. It seems that, already from an early age, Valdani also established himself in the sector of melancholic representations: in 1739 he was able to take over from Pietro Ligari in the commission of paintings for the ossuary of Cepina. Despite his clear fame and the appreciation of his contemporaries, even testified to by the Bishop of Chur who conferred on him the knight's cross, part of Valdani's production has been lost. These include the entire decoration of the church of Sant'Anna in Chiasso and the banner for the Confraternity of Balerna from 1763. However, other testimonies of his prolific activity and geographical range persist. In the areas of Mendrisio, for example, some mural paintings are preserved in the church of Colderio, among which the Glory of Saint George on the vault of the presbytery stands out, a work that highlights his mastery in the decoration of large surfaces. Valdani's frescoes are also found in Chiavenna and Piuro, and even in Pavia, as proof of a clientele that went beyond the borders of the Canton Ticino and the Como Brianza. A significant example of his activity is the work carried out in 1762 in the church of Cavallasca, where Valdani created the frescoes of the Annunciation, the Eternal Father and Saint Raphael on the vault. Part of his pictorial poetics seems summarized in our canvas: a scene of great pathos and drama, characterized by the exaggerated deformism of the faces, almost grotesque. The dramatic accent of the narration is underlined by a dark chromatic range and exasperated facial expressions, a style that also refers to works by the master Magatti, such as the San Carlo Borromeo of the Poldi Pezzoli Museum. Even the face of the woman portrayed in profile is inspired by the works of his master, as can be seen by comparing it with the Madonna of the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana.