GUARDI, Gianantonio
(b. 1699, Wien, d. 1760, Venezia)

Virgin and Child with Sts Dominic and Rosa of Lima

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Oil on canvas, 126 x 86 cm
Szépművészeti Múzeum, Budapest

This strange double work of the Guardi workshop was discovered in a private collection of Budapest. The same composition figures on both sides of the canvas, namely the Holy Virgin floating above clouds and handing a rosary to St Rosa, while from the left St Dominic, holding lilies in his hand, looks up to the Virgin. In style and in brushwork the two versions show a slight but unmistakable difference; comparison with works attributed respectively to Gianantonio and Francesco suggests that the picture shown here was painted by the elder brother, Gianantonio, while the composition on the reverse side is the work of the younger, Francesco. This double picture, presumably painted as a church banner, contributes further to the definition of the individual style and activity of the two Guardi brothers.