Pier Francesco Cittadini (Milan, 1616 – Bologna, September 20, 1681), attr., Garland with Sleeping Christ Child

Pier Francesco Cittadini (Milan, 1616 – Bologna, September 20, 1681), attr. Garland with Sleeping Christ Child Oil on canvas, 83 x 97 cm With frame, 57 x 71.5 cm The painting depicts a rich garland of flowers – roses, tulips, carnations, anemones, and wildflowers – arranged in a crown, within which opens a sort of natural niche that houses the sleeping Christ Child. The child lies on a bundle of straw, head resting on his arm, his body partially covered by a dark green drapery that highlights his warm and luminous complexion. The painterly rendering of the skin, soft and blended, contrasts with the denser, chromatically more vibrant material of the flowers, painted with rapid brushstrokes and a warm light that accentuates their relief. This is a genre very popular in 17th-century Lombardy and Emilia, where the floral still life, autonomous in technique and taste, frames a small devotional subject intended for private devotion. Pier Francesco Cittadini initially trained in Milan under Daniele Crespi; he moved to Bologna around 1634, where he followed the teachings of Guido Reni, whose lessons profoundly influenced his early works. After the master's death, the artist delved into the Bolognese tradition, starting from Carracci classicism. Around the mid-century, he stayed in Rome, coming into contact with French artists dedicated to genre painting, and also received commissions for Louis XIV thanks to the success of his still lifes and landscapes. He returned to Bologna in 1650 and married Giulia Ballarini in 1653, with whom he had numerous children, at least three of whom – Carlo Antonio, Angelo Michele, and Giovanni Battista – continued their father's activity. The painting finds significant comparisons in the artist's production dedicated to the theme of the floral garland. See the Garland of Flowers preserved at the Pinacoteca Nazionale di Bologna for the similar compositional structure of a vegetal crown. Even closer is the comparison with another Garland with a Sleeping Christ Child, now in a private collection, which reproduces the same composition with minor variations in the arrangement of the flowers and drapery. Finally, the Garland with Mary Magdalene, also in a private collection, is similar in its floral type, with flowers that are almost identical to those examined here, confirming a recurring decorative repertoire in the artist's workshop.