This 10″ x 10″ painting of the Madonna, hands raised in prayer, is on view in our Decorative Arts Gallery and holds a secret: she was painted by one of the Baroque period’s finest Italian painters.

Giovanni Battista Salvi da Sassoferrato (August 25, 1609 – August 8, 1685), so named Sassoferrato for his birthplace, is a relatively mysterious figure. Most records indicate he was trained by his father before moving to and training in Rome. His career focused primarily on producing devotional images, as explained by Dr. Gerard Vaughan, former Director of the National Gallery in Victoria, Australia:

“Sassoferrato can be regarded above all as the master of the prayerful Madonna. In the mid to late seventeenth century his works enjoyed widespread popularity, not only because they reflected a particular aspect of Counter-Reformation Mariology, but also because they were usually small and could be afforded by a broader range of patrons and pilgrims to Rome than was the case with many other contemporary painters, who depended upon ecclesiastical and aristocratic patronage for large-scale commissions.”

Sassoferrato’s works are anachronistic to the period in which he lived. Baroque artists were known for drama: exaggerated motion, clear details, and expression. Sassoferrato rejected these in favor of 15th- and 16th-century classicism, in the style of Raphael, which adhered to aesthetic ideals and harmony.

Because of this style, Sassoferrato’s works were influential both during and after his lifetime, thus helping them survive. Many are now in the collections of the Louvre Museum in Paris, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Rikjsmuseum in Amsterdam, the National Gallery in London, the Prado Museum in Madrid…and the Kentucky Museum at WKU.