Patronage, Identity and Devotion in Context. The Cases of Carlo Saraceni, Valentin de Boulogne and Guido Reni

This chapter consists of three case studies of religious paintings by three artists who, although from different origins, all lived and worked for some time in Rome: an altarpiece by Carlo Saraceni, and two devotional canvases respectively by Valentin de Boulogne and Guido Reni. The first section investigates a curious case of a woman patronizing a male hermitage, namely that of The Rest on the Flight into Egypt by Carlo Saraceni, which was commissioned by the influential Donna Olimpia Aldobrandini seniore, the niece of Pope Clement VIII. The destination of the painting was the Sacred Tusculan Hermitage of Monte Porzio Catone, led by the Congregation of Camaldolese Hermits of Monte Corona. This act of patronage was all the more exceptional because women were not allowed into the Hermitage itself. This paradox raises questions about artistic patronage as a tool for expressing power, devotion and identity. Furthermore, the reconstruction of the historical context allows for a better understanding not only of the way the work was tied to the identity of the patron as well as that of the monks, but also of the extent to which its iconography relates to the liturgical practices of the Camaldolese Hermits of Monte Corona. The second work is an easel painting of St John the Baptist in the Wilderness by Valentin de Boulogne, which was owned, and most probably even commissioned, by the papal physician Giovan Giacomo Baldini and displayed in his Roman dwelling together with other canvases. The reconstruction of the biographical profile of this hitherto neglected figure, through archival research and study of the sources, proves to be critical for a fresh understanding of Valentin’s work, its visual relation to the other pictorial subjects in the collection of the physician and the way in which this painting, together with the others, sheds light on the personal and social identity of this devout man. Contextual analysis was also crucial for the third case-study, of an Ecce Homo by Guido Reni and collaborators, which was owned by theJesuit Fabio Albergati and for which the Father felt a particular devotion. Discovery of new documentation about the painting, as well as about this hitherto neglected figure, makes it possible to investigate Albergati’s likely response to the painting within the framework of Jesuit spirituality, particularly the worship of Jesus and the performing of the Spiritual Exercises. By exploring the curious history behind this Ecce Homo, even before it came into the possession of Albergati, I consider the different interpretations that have been given to the painting, from its status as simply the means of paying off a gambling debt to serving as an object of devotion. The aim of this study of three paintings that are so different from one another is to furnish the students with various examples of critical and methodological approaches to a work of art. While stylistic and aesthetic appreciation is important, it proves, however, to be insufficient for the understanding of the complex meanings of an artwork. Investigating the historical context, reconstructing the life and the intentions of a patron, or, as in Saraceni’s case, the recipients of a work, such as the monks of Monte Corona, as well as subsequent collectors, allows a more nuanced understanding of an artist’s choices, including a work’s iconography, which is never fortuitous, but, as will be seen, has strong connections to the places, the people and the context for which it was made.