MAURO PICENARDI (Crema, 1735 - Bergamo, 1809) The Sacrifice of Polyxena Oil on canvas, 55.5X62 cm Provenance: Milan, Botta Collection Milan, Scopinich Gallery, Botta Collection auction, Milan 1934, no. 48 (as Sebastiano Ricci) Padua, Bordin Art Gallery (as Sebastiano Ricci) Private Collection Bibliography: C. Alpini, Mauro Picenardi maestro cremasco e pittore veneto, Insula Fulcheria, XL, 2010, pp. 238-249, fig. 3 A leading exponent of 18th-century painting between Crema and Bergamo, which were politically part of the Republic of St. Mark, Mauro Picenardi distinguished himself for his production of altarpieces and easel paintings with secular subjects, combining the Po Valley tradition with Veneto colourism. A pupil of Antonio Balestra and influenced by the art of Andrea Celesti and Gian Antonio Pellegrini, his works contemptuously evoke an illustrative culture of strict Baroque observance and a happiness of colour and rocaille draftsmanship, with fast, fringed brushstrokes imbued with luminosity. Documented in Crema from 1771 to 1782, the artist considerably increased his fame by being commissioned for the decorations of the Duomo (1776 ; 1780) and for the three large altarpieces conserved in the churches of San Pantaleone. Having said this, his pictorial achievements make it necessary to classify him a master of Veneto art in all respects and it is no coincidence that his creations were frequently referred to Giovanni Battista Pittoni, Giambattista Crosato and, as in our case, Sebastiano Ricci. Taking into account that his canvases are undoubtedly models, the Sacrifice of Polyxena proves to be preparatory to a large painting (oil on canvas, 209X124 cm) recently deposited at the Museo Civico di Crema (cf. R. Mangili, Dipingere sacro sotto l'ultima Venezia. Settecento di laguna e di terraferma occidentale, exhibition in Romano di Lombardia, Milan 2006, p. 72; C. Alpini, Il sacrificio di Polissena, in Insula Fulcheria, XXXIX, vol. II, 2009, p. 334), while the finished work of the Presentation of Pompey's Head to Caesar is now in a private collection and both must have belonged to a single series (Alpini, 2010). We thank Denis Ton for critical information. Reference bibliography: C. Alpini, Breve profilo storico artistico di Mauro Picenardi, in Mauro Picenardi: Splendore di una Via Crucis, Crema 1988, ad vocem L. Carubelli, Mauro Picenardi, in I pittori bergamaschi il Settecento, III, Bergamo 1990, pp. 696-698 C. Alpini, Mauro Picenardi: Lot, le figlie e altre novità, in Insula Fulcheria, XXIII, 1993, pp. 19917 C. Alpini, Mauro Picenardi disegnatore, in Insula Fulcheria, XXIX, 1999, pp. 123-146