Sebastiano Ricci, un sodalizio pavese e la pala dell’Angelo Custode | Sebastiano Ricci’s Role in the Artistic Milieu in Pavia, and the Altarpiece of the Guardian Angel

Abstract

This article introduces the archival rediscovery of a “notizia” about Sebastiano Ricci written in 1701 by Pietro Antonio Barbieri, a painter from Pavia who shared Ricci’s residence at Palazzo Farnese in Rome. The source mentions Marquis Cesare Pagani as “Podestà” of Pavia, a city to which he was also linked through his affiliation with the Accademia degli Affidati. Considering some themes of his patronage, it is possible to trace affinities with the iconography of the altarpiece of the Guardian Angel in the local church of Carmine. The commission of the painting is then discussed in relation to the coat of arms on the frame and the possible involvement of Count Giuseppe Calvi (also from Pavia, former court musician to the Duke of Parma and collaborator of Ricci in various theatrical ventures). Finally, the stylistic connections between the altarpiece and Ricci’s frescoes for San Bernardino alle Ossa in Milan, painted shortly afterwards, are examined.