Bidspirit auction | Attributed to AURELIANO MILANI (Bologna,

Attributed to AURELIANO MILANI (Bologna, 1675 - Rome, 1749) - The Repentance of Saint Peter - Oil on canvas, 75 x 58.5 cm unframed 85 cm x 68.5 cm framed Aureliano Milani (Bologna, 1675 - Rome, 1749), an Italian painter active during the late Baroque period. The painting is a refined product of 17th-century Bolognese painting. The scene shows the repentance of St. Peter, a subject that enjoyed great popularity during the Counter-Reformation. The Saint, presented half-length, has his hands together in an attitude of intimate conversation and looks up to heaven while tears wet his cheeks. A thick white beard frames the Saint's face, while his half-open mouth and disheveled curls make the image more lively. The light, coming from the left, illuminates the Saint's face, which also stands out due to the ochre tone of his cloak. The intensity of the saint's face and the powerful use of chiaroscuro reveal the work of a painter of great calibre, well acquainted with Guido Reni's essays on the subject. The theme of St Peter the Weeper was frequently tackled by artists of the Carracci school in the first two decades of the century. The intimate and pathetic tone of the work brings it close to the style of Aureliano Milani, a high-level Bolognese artist who, in the choice of warm colours and in the expressive force of the figures, renews the strength of the Carracci painting, especially that of Ludovico. Stylistically, the figure does not seem very far from those of St Luke and St Pellegrino in the Basilica dei Servi in Bologna, painted before his departure for Rome in 1719.