Marcello Venusti (1515 Como-1579 Rome),, Pietà with Two Angels

97,5 x 72,5 cm Oil on canvas
Brand stamp on the backside: EC. The branding possibly come from the cabinetmaker. Expert opinion by Allessandro Delpriori

The painting reproduces a composition by Michelangelo famous in the 16th century, which he drew around 1538–1541 for Vittoria Colonna (1492–1547) and which is now in the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. Vittoria Colonna and Michelangelo cultivated a deep friendship with intensive intellectual exchanges. The Pieta was spread in drawings, engravings, and painted copies. Giulio Bonasone created an engraving after Michelangelo's Pieta for Vittoria Colonna in 1546. Marcello Venusti made a name for himself through copies after Michelangelo, e.g. a reduced version in oil of his Last Judgment in the Sistine Chapel and small oil painting after a crucifixion, which is now in the British Museum in London and which Michelangelo also drew for Vittoria Colonna. Oil on panel. Partially parquetted. After the composition by Michelangelo Buonarroti, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston.The Virgin is seated on a ledge dressed in a reddish garment and white head covering against a beige-brown background. Notes: A slightly bigger but almost identical motif by the artist was offered for sale at auction including a “Pietà with Two Angels” at Christie‘s on 15 April 2008 in New York, lot 10