Alessandro Magnasco, known as Lissandrino ----------
(Genoa, 1667-1749) workshop ----------
Oil on canvas ----------
Gilded frame ----------
Canvas cm. 69 x 92 ----------
Frame cm. 81 x 106 ----------
The work is in good condition. ----------
This interesting painting, imbued with a fascinating atmosphere, serene but with a shadowy aura, depicts the hall of a female convent, where groups of nuns are intent on spending their day devoted to daily work. ----------
The scene is described in the most typical ways that distinguish the extraordinary painting of the brilliant Genoese artist Alessandro Magnasco. ----------
The depiction of spacious convent interiors, both of nuns and friars, is one of the favorite themes of his vast repertoire and lends itself particularly to expressing the unmistakable characteristics of the characters that animate his compositions. ----------
The usual inevitable aura of dark theatricality finds an easy setting in these gloomy places where the slightest note of cheerfulness cannot transpire, never touched in his canvases. ---------
The painting has a great scenographic effect and stands out, in addition to the countless scenes highlighted by excellent three-dimensionality, for the Author's choice to give a great sense of openness to an internal environment. ----------
In fact, avoiding depicting the groups of nuns inside a space enclosed by walls, he manages to give the sensation of being outdoors in a square with large porticoes. ----------
The quality of the painting is remarkable and allows us to place it directly in the Magnasco workshop, differentiating it from the many works of his less gifted imitators and far from obtaining such valid and attractive results.
