Cornelis van HAARLEM (Haarlem 1562-1638) - Lot 10

Cornelis van HAARLEM (Haarlem 1562-1638) Virgin at Prayer before the Instruments of the Passion Copper, engraver's plate 51.5 x 36.5 cm (Restorations). The iconography here is atypical for a Virgin of Sorrows. The Virgin is depicted praying beside Christ's open tomb, where the instruments of the Passion lie, gazing at her with a look of sadness. The posture of the Virgin's head and her features can be found in many of Cornelis van Haarlem's works. The artist often depicts faces turned downwards, with drooping eyes and a sunken chin. We can compare this painting with Venus and Cupid in a private collection (see P. J.J. van Thiel, Cornelis Cornelisz van Haarlem, Doornspijk, 1999, no. 178, reproduced fig. 100), the Charité in the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Valenciennes (see opus quoted above, no. III, reproduced fig. 1), or the Vierge à l'Enfant avec Saint Jean-Baptiste in the Luigi Moretti collection in Rome (see opus quoted above, no. 98, reproduced fig. 46). The painting is painted on a copper plate, which is an engraver's plate. It was produced by Raffaello Schiaminossi, an Italian painter and engraver active in the late 16th century. Here, he depicts the Emperor Caligula in profile, as part of his series of twelve Caesars.