The Virgin Immaculate Appearing to Four Saints
Ciro Ferri Italian
Not on view
The monastic saints kneeling at the right of this composition may be Carmelites (possibly Saint Angelus of Jerusalem and Saint Mary Magdalen de' Pazzi), and the drawing could be a study for an oval relief. Ciro Ferri was responsible for the design of the choir of the church of Santa Maria Maddalena de' Pazzi in Florence, which he executed 1675–1701; however, no such composition occurs among the reliefs here. A black chalk drawing by Ferri in the Kunstmuseum, Düsseldorf (inv. vol. 2, g 2), is a study for the same oval relief: the figures are posed in the same way, but there is a greater expanse of landscape background seen beyond the balustrade. On a visit to the Museum, Jörg Merz (December 2004) tentatively proposed the attribution of the drawing to Pietro Lucatelli (ca. 1630- after 1690), a close pupil of Ciro Ferri.
This artwork is meant to be viewed from right to left. Scroll left to view more.