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A young woman plays a small pipe organ while a winged angel holds up a piece of sheet music in this horizontal painting. A strong light source illuminates the scene from our right, creating deep shadows in the dark background. Both the woman and angel have pale skin, flushed cheeks, and light brown hair. Shown from the knees up and taking up the left half of the painting, the woman’s body is angled to our right as she sits at the organ, which is near the right edge of the composition. Her hair is pulled back into a braid, and wisps fall on her forehead. Her skin is smooth, and her head tilts down toward the organ. Her cherry-red dress has a squared neckline and olive-green sleeves over a white shirt. The voluminous sleeves are pushed back over her forearms as she rests her fingertips on the keys of the organ. Gazing toward the woman, the angel has short, curly hair, silvery gray wings, and wears a topaz-blue garment. Two lines of music on the paper the angel holds have notes written in and one staff is empty. The small organ is angled away from us so we see one narrow end and the row of low pipes along its back. The dark brown background lightens behind the young woman’s head.

Orazio Gentileschi and Giovanni Lanfranco

Saint Cecilia and an Angel, c. 1617/1618 and c. 1621/1627

West Building, Main Floor — Gallery 29

Medium

oil on canvas

Dimensions

overall: 87.5 x 108 cm (34 7/16 x 42 1/2 in.)

framed: 109.9 x 130.2 x 6.4 cm (43 1/4 x 51 1/4 x 2 1/2 in.)

Credit Line

Samuel H. Kress Collection

Accession Number

1961.9.73

Artists / Makers

Orazio Gentileschi (painter) Florentine, 1563 - 1639

Giovanni Lanfranco (painter) Italian, 1582 - 1647

Image Use

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Provenance

Probably Natale Rondinini, Rome [1540-1627]; his son, Alessandro Rondinini [d. 1639], Rome; his wife, Felice Zacchia Rondinini [1593-1667], Rome, 1662; by inheritance to their grandson, Alessandro Rondinini [1660-1740], Rome,[1] and inventoried at his death;[2] to the Del Bufalo Della Valle Cancellieri family, Rome, probably by inheritance through Alessandro's sister, Felicità Rondinini, who married a Marchese del Bufalo della Valle;[3] by inheritance to Marchese Paolo del Bufalo Della Valle, Rome, by 1840; by inheritance to Monsignor Federico Fioretti, Rome, by 1944;[4] sold 1952 through (Vitale Bloch, Netherlands) and (Victor Spark, New York)[5] to the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, New York;[6] gift 1961 to NGA.

[1] A painting of Saint Cecilia attributed to Gentileschi and Lanfranco and measuring 3 x 5 palmi (approximately 70 x 116 cm) is listed in the 1662 inventory attached to the will of Felice Zacchia Rondinini and published by Luigi Salerno, Palazzo Rondinini, Rome, 1965: 280; see also note 12, below. As no paintings by artists active after c. 1630 appear in the later inventories, Salerno concluded that this collection was amassed by Felice's father-in-law, Natale Rondinini, during the first decades of the seventeenth century.

An inventory of 1639 lists paintings inherited by Felice from her father Laudivio Zacchia, cardinal of San Sisto (Archivio di stato di Roma, 30 notai capitolini, not. T. Pizzutus, Sept. 1649). The present work is not included.

In 1623 Natale established a fideicommissum stipulating that his heirs maintain his art collection intact. The 1662 inventory indicates that the works of art were distributed throughout the family palace, with the Saint Cecilia "nella Galeria del S.r. Cardinale," Paolo Emilio, second son of Natale and Felice and the most illustrious member of the family. Felice's will maintained the fideicommissum and decreed that the works of art, including those in the apartments of the cardinal, would pass to her heirs Bonaventura (her eldest son, who died without issue) and Nicolò (1623 1670). Nicolò's son Alessandro carried on the male line. The history of the family is recounted by Salerno 1965: 29-44.

[2] It was lent by the Rondinini to the art exhibitions in the cloister of San Salvatore in Lauro of 1694 and 1710 (see NGA systematic catalogue entry and note 13). It also appears in Alessandro's inventory of 19 January 1741: "Altro [quadro] in tela di cinque e tre per traverso rapp.te S. Cecilia che sona l'organo in cornice dorata et intagliato mano del Lanfranco con la testa del Gentileschi della sud.etta eredità." The "sudetta eredità" refers to Natale's fideicommissum inherited via Felice. The inventory is in the Archivio di Stato di Roma, 30 notai capitolini, Domenicus Palmerius, uff. 37, fol. 116v, and was discovered by Franca Camiz (letter of 20 October 1992, NGA curatorial files).

[3] It is not known when Natale's fideicommissum was violated, but this could easily have occurred during the difficulties that the family experienced in the eighteenth century. Like many others, the painting does not reappear in the 1807 inventory compiled after Alessandro's second son Giuseppe had died without an heir. In the litigation for the inheritance, the descendants of Felicità Rondinini del Bufalo Della Valle were unsuccessful, further suggesting that the painting had passed to that family some time earlier. Salerno 1965: 283-315 and 73-74, published the 1807 inventory and chronicled the dissolution of the family collection. The line of descent from Felicità Rondinini remains unclear in the complicated history of the Del Bufalo Della Valle Cancellieri. On this family see Teodoro Amayden, La storia delle famiglie romane, Rome, 1914 (reprinted Bologna, 1979): 187-197.

[4] According to Federico Hermanin, "Gli ultimi avanzi di un' antica galleria romana", Roma (1944): 45, the paintings owned by Monsignor Fioretti in 1944, including the Saint Cecilia, had been inherited from his mother, a Marchesa del Bufalo Della Valle. These were included in a list, dated 23 February 1840 and then in the possession of Monsignor Fioretti, of paintings belonging to Marchese Paolo del Bufalo Della Valle.

[5] See Archives of American Art, Victor Spark Papers, Box One for correspondence between Bloch and Spark concerning this painting (copies in NGA curatorial files)

[6] According to Paintings and Sculpture from the Kress Collection, Acquired by the Samuel H. Kress Foundation 1951-1956, Washington, D.C., 1956: 82. See also The Kress Collection Digital Archive, https://kress.nga.gov/Detail/objects/1814.

Associated Names

Bloch, Vitale, Dr.
Del Bufalo della Valle family
Fioretti, Federico, Monsignor
Kress Foundation, Samuel H.
Rondinini, Alessandro
Rondinini, Alessandro
Rondinini, Felice Zacchia
Rondinini, Natale
Spark, Victor D.

Exhibition History

1694: Cloister of San Salvator in Lauro, Rome, 1694.

1710: Cloister of San Salvator in Lauro, Rome, 1710.

1945: Mostra dei pittori del seicento, Rome, 1945, no. 4.

1951: Mostra del Caravaggio e dei Caravaggeschi, Palazzo Reale, Milan, 1951, no. 107, 65.

1999: Caravaggio's 'The Taking of Christ': Saints and Sinners in Baroque Painting, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1999, brochure, no. 7, repro.

2001: Orazio and Artemisia Gentileschi: Father and Daughter Painters in Baroque Italy, Museo del Palazzo di Venezia, Rome; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; The Saint Louis Art Museum, St. Louis, 2001-2002, no. 31, repro.

2013: Caravaggio to Canaletto: The Glory of Italian Baroque and Rococo Painting, Szépmüvészeti Museum, Budapest, Budapest, 2013-2014, no. 34, repro.

Technical Summary

The support consists of four separate pieces of medium-weight, loosely woven plain-weave fabric sewn together in a pattern visible in x-radiographs. Although there is cusping along the edges of the center section, all technical evidence indicates that the painting was originally conceived at the present dimensions. X-radiographs show no interruption of any compositional lines at the edges of the central piece, and the analysis of cross-sections reveals an identical buildup of ground and paint layers over all four sections. Cross-sections reveal a white layer. The raised seams were smoothed by a thicker ground application.

X-radiographs suggest that the main figure of Saint Cecilia, which has several pentimenti, was painted first. The outlines of the red drapery over her left thigh originally extended to the right as far as the angel's sheet of music. These outlines were changed at least once, but were later hidden by the organ and the saint's right arm. The red skirt was at least partially modeled before the organ was painted on top. X-radiographs also indicate that the saint's hands have been raised 2 to 3 cm. The angel and organ pipes were planned and painted with no overlapping of forms. A slight change in the angel's forehead, making it more vertical, is visible to the eye. Air-path x-ray fluorescence spectroscopy suggests the very early use of an antimony-containing pigment in the parts of the painting stylistically attributed to Lanfranco.

The varnish is slightly yellowed. There are losses in the saint's right leg and in the lower-left quadrant, and a vertical loss of about 5 cm in the angel's wing near the right edge. The painting was relined, discolored varnish was removed, and the painting was restored in 1955 by Mario Modestini.

Bibliography

1944: Hermanin, Federico. "Gli ultimi avanzi di un' antica galleria romana." Roma (1944): 45-46.

1956: Paintings and Sculpture from the Kress Collection Acquired by the Samuel H. Kress Foundation 1951-56. Introduction by John Walker, text by William E. Suida and Fern Rusk Shapley. National Gallery of Art. Washington, 1956: 82, no. 29, repro., as by Orazio Gentileschi.

1956: Walker, John. "The Nation's Newest Old Masters." The National Geographic Magazine 110, no. 5 (November 1956): color repro. 640, 646, 655.

1958: Emiliania, Andrea. "Orazio Gentileschi: nuove proposte per il viaggio marchigiano." Paragone 103 (1958): 43.

1959: Judson, J. Richard. Gerrit van Honthorst. The Hague, 1959: 177.

1959: Paintings and Sculpture from the Samuel H. Kress Collection. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1959: 218, repro., as by Orazio Gentileschi.

1960: Shapley, Fern Rusk. Later Italian Painting in the National Gallery of Art. Washington, D.C., 1960 (Booklet Number Six in Ten Schools of Painting in the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.): 20, color repro.

1962: Cairns, Huntington, and John Walker, eds. Treasures from the National Gallery of Art. New York, 1962: 44, color repro., as by Orazio Gentileschi.

1963: Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. New York, 1963 (reprinted 1964 in French, German, and Spanish): 309, repro., as by Orazio Gentileschi.

1965: Summary Catalogue of European Paintings and Sculpture. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1965: 56, as by Orazio Gentileschi.

1966: Bissell, R. Ward. "The Baroque Painter Orazio Gentileschi: His Career in Italy." 2 vols. Ph.D. dissertation, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, 1966.

1967: Moir, Alfred. The Italian Followers of Caravaggio. 2 vols. Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1967: 1:70, 72, 83, 118; 2:76, fig. 71.

1968: National Gallery of Art. European Paintings and Sculpture, Illustrations. Washington, 1968: 49, repro., as by Orazio Gentileschi.

1969: Herzog, Erich. Die Gemäldegalerie der staatlichen Kunstsammlungen Kassel. Hanau, 1969: 85, no. 43.

1971: Bissell, R. Ward. "Orazio Gentileschi: Baroque without Rhetoric." The Art Quarterly 3 (1971): 277.

1971: Spear, Richard. Caravaggio and His Followers. Exh. cat. Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, 1971: 103.

1973: Finley, David Edward. A Standard of Excellence: Andrew W. Mellon Founds the National Gallery of Art at Washington. Washington, 1973: 89.

1973: Shapley, Fern Rusk. Paintings from the Samuel H. Kress Collection: Italian Schools, XVI-XVIII Century. London, 1973: 83, fig. 148.

1973: Wittkower, Rudolf. Art and Architecture in Italy 1600 to 1750. 3rd rev. ed. Harmondsworth, 1973: 340, n. 5. (Reprinted 1980)

1974: Mirimonde, Albert P. de Sainte-Cécile: Metamorphoses d'un thème musical. Geneva, 1974: 44, repro.

1975: European Paintings: An Illustrated Summary Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1975: 148, repro., as by Orazio Gentileschi.

1976: Santi, Francesco. "Una tela di Orazio Gentileschi in Umbria." Bollettino d'Arte 5th ser., 41 (1976): 43-44, figs. 3, 6.

1979: Nicolson, Benedict. The International Caravaggesque Movement: Lists of Pictures by Caravaggio and His Followers throughout Europe from 1590-1650. Oxford, 1979.

1979: Shapley, Fern Rusk. Catalogue of the Italian Paintings. 2 vols. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1979: 1:199-200, 543-544; 2:pl. 138, 378, 379, as by Orazio Gentileschi.

1981: Bissell, R. Ward. Orazio Gentileschi and the Poetic Tradition in Caravaggesque Painting. University Park, Pennsylvania, 1981: 39-40, 165, 166-167, no. 37, fig. 86.

1982: Bernardini, Maria Grazia. Arte Sacra in Umbria. Mostra di dipinti restaurati 1976-1981. Exh. cat. Galleria Nazionale, Perugia, 1982: 100-101.

1984: Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. Rev. ed. New York, 1984: 232, no. 296, color repro.

1985: Camiz, Trinchieri. In Cinque secoli di stampa musicale in Europa. Exh. cat. Palazzo Venezia, Rome. Naples, 1985: 254.

1985: European Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1985: 172, repro.

1988: Emiliani, Andrea. "Il viaggio marchigiano di Orazio Gentileschi." In Giovan Francesco Guerrieri. Dipinti e Disegni--Un accostamento all'opera. Exh. cat. Palazzo di Città, San Severino Marche; Chiesa di San Giorgio in Poggiale, Bologna.Bologna,1988: 47.

1989: Nicolson, Benedict. Caravaggism in Europe. 2nd ed. of International Caravaggesque Movement, revised and enlarged by Luisa Verrova. 3 vols. Turin, 1989: 1:114, no. 207; 2:fig. 207.

1994: De Grazia, Diane, and Erich Schleier. "Saint Cecilia and an Angel: 'The Heads by Gentileschi, the Rest by Lanfranco." The Burlington Magazine 136 (1994): 73-78, color repro.

1994: Townsend, Richard P. Botticelli to Tiepolo: Three Centuries of Italian Painting. Exh. cat. Philbrook Museum of Art, Tulsa; Joslyn Art Mus., Omaha; New Orleans Mus. of Art; Birmingham Museum of Art; Dayton Art Institute. Tulsa, 1994: 143-145, cat. 16.

1996: De Grazia, Diane, and Eric Garberson, with Edgar Peters Bowron, Peter M. Lukehart, and Mitchell Merling. Italian Paintings of the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries. The Collections of the National Gallery of Art Systematic Catalogue. Washington, D.C., 1996: 103-112, color repro. 105.

1997: Southgate, M. Therese. The Art of JAMA: One Hundred Covers and Essays from The Journal of the American Medical Association. St. Louis, 1997: 38-39, color repro.