VITTORE GHISLANDI called FRA GALGARIO (Bergamo, 1655 - 1743) Portrait of a Friar Oil on canvas, 105X77 cm Provenance: Milan, Giuseppe Beltrami collection Milan, Annibale Beltrani Collection Milan, private collection (1949) Bibliography: I Pittori della realtà in Lombardia, exhibition catalogue edited by C. Renata, G. Testori, R. Longhi, Milan 1953, p. 58, no. 107, table 107 M. C. Bozzoli, Vittore Ghislandi, in I Pittori Bergamaschi. Il Settecento, I, Bergamo 1982, p. 126, n. 165- p. 184, fig. 2 Fra Galgario nelle collezioni storiche milanesi, edited by S. Colombo, Milan 2003, p. 24, no. 64 (cited) Vittore Ghislandi entered the Order of Minims in 1675, so it is not surprising that his production was partly dedicated to depicting his brothers, recognisable by a black tunic with a hood. Having said this, the canvas is reminiscent of that group of portraits mentioned by Francesco Maria Tassi in the Life of the painter: 'In 1737 the eight portraits of his religious were finished, as far as the natural and below the knee' (cf. Tassi 1793, p. 68). The work also reflects the expressive qualities exalted by the biographer when he finds in his portraits: 'a very easy attitude, a natural and sweet look and such an expression, that one cannot imagine more', a description that seems most appropriate for the painting under examination, characterised by a peculiar and intense naturalism. No less so is Testori's opinion, when he perceives in the 'melancholic declamation of gesture' a revival of the 16th century Brescia and Bergamo portrait tradition (cf. Testori 1953). For our part, we can add that: 'the natural and sensual effect' (cf. Angelini 1720) of the work corresponds with the Ritratto di frate (Portrait of a Friar) in the Castello Sforzesco, agreeing with its dating to the late maturity for 'the exciting intensity of the drafting and the directness of the portrait approach' (Frangi 2000, pp. 103-104, no. 882). Reference bibliography: G. B. Angelini, Per darti le notizie del paese. Descrizione di Bergamo in terza rima, Bergamo 1720 F. M. Tassi, Vite de' Pittori, Scultori e Architetti Bergamaschi, Bergamo 1793 F. Frangi, Museo d'Arte Antica del Castello Sforzesco. Pinacoteca. Volume IV, Milan 2000 R. Ferrario, A. Magnani, in Il Gran teatro del mondo, l'anima e il volto del Settecento, exhibition catalogue edited by F. Caroli, Milan 2003, pp. 206-213 Fra' Galgario. Le seduzioni del ritratto nel '700 europeo, exhibition catalogue edited by F. Rossi, Milan 2003, ad vocem