GIULIO FRANCIA (Bologna, 1487 - 1540) Mystic Marriage of St Catherine Oil on panel, 65X50.5 cm Provenance: Pietro Marabini Collection Milan, private collection Bibliography: G. Courgette, Exhibition of old paintings (from private Bolognese collections). Circolo Artistico - Bologna, May-June 1948, no. 11 (as Innocenzo Francucci da Imola according to label on verso) The style and composition find comparison with the works of the Emilian school and in that artistic sphere of Perugian derivation popularised by Francesco Francia's pupils, particularly his sons Giacomo and Giulio, to whom we can add Bartolomeo Ramenghi known as Bagnacavallo and Innocenzo Francucci da Imola; exponents of that Renaissance culture that developed along the Via Emilia during the first decades of the 16th century. The panel shows clear affinities with the Sacred Families produced by these artists in various illustrative variations. The scenic construction of the backdrop is also typical, with a curtain on the right that closes the space like a backdrop, while the left side opens onto a landscape. The many paintings published both in the monograph dedicated to Francia and his school (cf. E. Negro, N. Roio, Francesco Francia e la sua scuola, Modena 1998) and in Vera Fortunati's monumental work, as mentioned, support this thesis, but a close analysis of the work reveals clear analogies with Giulio Francia's production. In this regard, mention should be made of the similar panel sold at Sotheby's in London on 5 July 2012, lot 109, in which it is the position and gesture of the Child that varies. The youngest son of Francesco Raibolini (Zola Predosa or Bologna, 1450 - Bologna, 1517), Giulio trained in the family workshop, collaborating on his father's commissions with his brother Giacomo (Bologna 1486 - 1557), but it is unmistakable that he produced his own work, characterised by a conscious and updated mannerist sensibility that intervened within the path of the two brothers after 1530. These characteristics, clearly perceptible in the panel under examination, highlight the use of subtle, elegant physiognomies and an elongation of the figures that demonstrate the influence of the work carried out in Bologna by Parmigianino between 1527 and 1530. To confirm this assumption, see how the same stylistic intention informs the banner with Madonna and Saints now in the parish church of Fuipiano (Bergamo) signed 'I. Francia bononiensis' and dated 1535 (Negro/ Roio, 1998, p. 269, no. 205). We thank Nicosetta Roio and Emilio Negro for the attribution. Reference bibliography: A. M. Fioravanti Baraldi, in Pittura bolognese del '500, edited by V. Fortunati Pietrantonio, Bologna 1986, I, p. 187 N. Roio, Giacomo e Giulio Raibolini detti i Francia, in Pittura bolognese del '500 a cura di V. Fortunati Pietrantonio, I, Bologna 1986, p. 37 E. Negro, N. Roio, Francesco Francia e la sua scuola, Modena 1998, ad vocem