Gallery Label A fifth-century ascetic, Mary of Egypt is shown receiving her Last Communion from the hands of the priest Zosimus, following forty-seven years of isolation in the wilderness of Palestine. The picture has a pendant showing the ecstasy of Saint Mary Magdalen (Molinari Pradelli collection, Bologna). Painted in about 1690, it was given in 1709 to Pope Clement XI as a gift of the Senate of Bologna in anticipation of his support for the founding of an art academy in the city.
Notes This picture is one of a pair. Its pendant, "The Ecstasy of Saint Mary Magdalen," is in the Molinari Pradelli collection, Bologna. The original patron is not known, but in 1709 the two works were given by the Senate of Bologna to Pope Clement XI to obtain his support for the establishment of an art academy in Bologna.
Provenance [Francesco Ruvinetti, until about 1709; sold by or through him with its pendant for 80 luigi to Senate of Bologna]; Senate of Bologna (1709; given to Clement XI); Pope Clement XI (Giovanni Francesco Albani), Rome (from 1709); ?Henry R. Willett, Brighton (before d. 1905); Canon Robert Wadnan, Saint Joseph's Presbytery, Bridgewater, England (until d. 1914; sale, Puttick & Simpson, London, October 16, 1914, no. 74, as Flemish School, to Grace); Lionell P. Grace, London (1914–probably until d. 1919); ?sale, Sotheby's, London, as by Albani, to Pope-Hennessy; Sir John Wyndham Pope-Hennessy, London, later New York, later Florence (by 1961–d. 1994); Michael Mallon, Florence (1994–96; sale, "The Collections of the late Sir John Wyndham Pope-Hennessy," Christie’s, New York, January 10, 1996, no. 103, for $112,500 to Agnew); [Agnew, New York, 1996; sold to MMA]
References Filippo Aldrovandi. Letters to the Bolognese Senate . June 26 and 29, 1709 [Lettere dalli 8 Giugno 1709 alli 31 Luglio dello Oratore/D: Co: Philippo Aldrovando/Pietro Jacopo Martello, Segretario.Archivio dell'Ambasciata Bolognese in Roma, vol. 262, tomo 2, Archivio di Stato, Bologna, pp. 515, 518a; published in Ref. Miller 1970], acknowledges receipt of the two beautiful paintings by Franceschini [this picture and its pendant] from the Senate, noting that they had already been offered to Clement XI's nephews and refused; discusses the strategy to be used in giving them to the Pope himself.Letter to the Bolognese Senate . July 3, 1709 [Registrum d'die 13 Februarii, 1709, adi 14 Octobris/dicti Oratore D: Co: Philippo Aldrovando/Piero Jacopo Martello, Secretario (Archivio dell'Ambasciata Bolognese in Roma, vol. 62, tomo 2, p. 522; Archivio di Stato, Bologna; published Ref. Miller 1970], communicates to the Senate the successful resolution of the project; notes that the Pope hesitated to accept the gift, wishing to avoid the appearance of self-interest, but that after seeing the paintings he was so overcome by their beauty that he relented.Storia dell'Accademia Clementina di Bologna . Bologna, 1739, vol. 1, pp. 223–24, mentions this picture and its pendant as dating from 1680, and notes that they were purchased by the Senate of Bologna as a gift to Pope Clement XI.Estratti storici artistici dall'Archivio del Reggimento . . . di Bologna e del legato diretto dall'attuale archivista Filippo Alfonso Fontana . n.d., pp. 228–29 [Biblioteca Comunale, Bologna, MS B 2382; published in Ref. Miller 1970], states that a Francesco Ruvinetti was paid 80 Luigi for the two pictures, and that they were originally offered to the Pope's nephews during their brief stay in Bologna.Burlington Magazine 112 (June 1970), pp. 373–78, fig. 39, notes that this picture and its pendant were first offered by the Bolognese Senate to Clement XI's nephews, but were refused on the basis of the Pope's strict directive that no gifts were to be received by them; publishes correspondence between Aldrovandi, Bolognese Ambassador to the Papal court, and the Senate relating to their presentation to and ultimate acceptance by the Pope himself and cites other early sources; observes that "Although it is nowhere alluded to in the correspondence, it is certainly reasonable to assume that foremost among 'public affairs' which could be benefited by the Pope's favour, encouraged by the gift of the two pictures by Francheschini, was his support in the establishment of the academy in Bologna" [the Accademia Clementina, Bologna's first communally supported art academy, was established in 1709].Commentario alla 'Storia dell'Accademia Clementina' di G. P. Zanotti (1739) [Atti e memorie della Accademia Clementina di Bologna, no. 12] . Bologna, 1977, p. 66.Pittura Bolognese, 1650–1800: dal Cignani ai Gandolfi . Bologna, 1977, pp. 23, 101, 259, 261.in La raccolta Molinari Pradelli: dipinti del Sei e Settecento . Exh. cat., Palazzo del Podestà. Florence, 1984, p. 104, mentions it in a discussion of the pendant.Learning to Look . New York, 1991, p. 317, mentions a Franceschini [this picture] in his "drawing room".The Collections of the Late Sir John Wyndham Pope-Hennessy . Christie's, New York. January 10, 1996, pp. 114–15, no. 103, ill. (color).Marcantonio Franceschini . Turin, 2001, pp. 76, 86, 221, 237, 429, 435, no. 131, fig. 131, colorpl. XII, states that the two pictures presented to the Pope by the Senate of Bologna "were purchased from their original owner".in The Wrightsman Pictures . New York, 2005, pp. 110–12, no. 32, ill. (color).Old Masters & 19th Century Art . Christie's, London. July 8, 2009, p. 101, under no. 248, as "Communion of the Magdalen".
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