Holy Family with the Infant St. John the Baptist(Alessandro Casolani)
His nick-name derives from the fact that he painted the allegorical figures in the Torre del Mangia in Siena, the city where he spent most of his working life. He was the student of Arcangelo Salimbeni and of Cristoforo Roncalli, called Pomarancio. After a sojourn in Rome he returned to Siena in 1535 and there produced a number of his major works such as: The Nativity of the Virgin for San Domenico (1584), The Martyrdom of San Bartolomeo for the church of the Carmine (1604). In 1599 he was called to Favia to work in the Certosa frescoing the cupola and, together with Pietro Sorri, the vaults of the Sacristy (1600).
Devotional works such as this by Casolani, repeat similar compositions with the Madonna and Child as principal figures. They were usually commissioned by wealthy private citizens for use in homes or private chapels. Dating from circa 1585, the present work can be compared with The Nativity in Santa Maria dei Servi, Siena, and with The Nativity in the Cathedral, Siena. The compositional model for thus panel is to be found in a series of tondi of the same subject by Beccafumi, such as those in the Uffizi and the Pitti Palace, Florence.
F. G. Stephens.
Christies, London, Dec. 1, 1888, lot 68 as Beccafumi, (7 gns. to Macnaughter).