Aureliano Milani (attributed) (bologna, 1675 - Rome, 1749) "the Repentance Of Saint Peter"

AURELIANO MILANI (attributed) (Bologna, 1675 - Rome, 1749) "The Repentance of Saint Peter" Oil on canvas, 75 x 58.5 cm unframed 85 x 68.5 cm framed Aureliano Milani (Bologna, 1675 - Rome, 1749), Italian painter active in the late Baroque period. This painting is a refined example of 17th-century Bolognese painting. The scene depicts the repentance of Saint Peter, a very popular theme during the Counter-Reformation. The saint, depicted half-length, his hands clasped in an attitude of intimate conversation, raises his eyes to heaven, his cheeks wet with tears. A thick white beard frames the saint's face, while his half-open mouth and tousled curls make the image more lively. The light coming from the left illuminates the saint's face, which is also distinguished by the ochre tint of his cloak. The intensity of the saint's face and the power of the chiaroscuro reveal the work of a painter of great stature, familiar with Guido Reni's essays on the subject. The theme of Saint Peter Weeping was frequently addressed by artists of the Carracci school during the first two decades of the century. The intimate and pathetic tone of the work brings it closer to the style of Aureliano Milani, a high-level Bolognese artist who, through the choice of warm colors and the expressive force of the figures, renewed the strength of the Carracci painting, especially that of Ludovico. Stylistically, the figure does not seem far removed from those of Saint Luke and Saint Pellegrino in the Basilica of the Servants in Bologna, painted before his departure for Rome in 1719. Although he began his training as a pupil of his uncle Giulio Cesare Milani, and later of Lorenzo Pasinelli and Cesare Gennari, his style moved away from that of these masters. He consciously tried to approximate the Carracci style. He conscientiously studied the frescoes that Annibale and Agostino Carracci had executed in the Magnani and Fava palaces nearly eighty years earlier. The patronage of Count Alessandro Fava gave him full access to these works. He made copies of the Carracci's most famous works, seeking to imitate the vigorous male figures that the brothers had incorporated into their large compositions. However, he was never a great colorist, which earned him criticism from his contemporaries. Milani eventually settled in Rome (1719), although he left his large family in Bologna. In the papal capital, he obtained numerous commissions and established relationships with other artists such as Domenico Maria Muratori and Donato Creti. In Bologna he left many disciples, including Antonio Gionima and Giuseppe Marchesi, known as Sansone. In the decoration of the frescoes in the Gallery of the Palazzo Doria Pamphili in Rome, he left his own version of Carrara art, executed with grace and ease.