Giovanni Ghisolfi

GIOVANNI GHISOLFI (Italy, 1623-1683).
"Saint Peter Released from Prison".
Oil on canvas.
The original canvas is preserved.
It presents restorations.
Measurements: 53 x 33 cm; 68 x 47 cm (frame).
This oil on canvas has the same composition and subject matter as the work by the artist Giovanni Ghisolfi, in the church of Santa Maria della Vittoria in Milan. In this particular case, the technique and reduced dimensions compared to the work in Milan indicate that it is a preparatory work, designed to establish the composition and tonalities, as a preparatory exercise. As for the scene, which is vertical in form, the artist arranges the figures in such a way as to form a pyramidal figure with their bodies; in the upper area two little angels embrace each other, below them a large angel, followed by an archangel above the two figures that form the base of the scene, a sleeping soldier and Saint Peter, who can be recognised by his beard and by the keys, which are lying on the ground in the lower right-hand corner. The image depicts the story of St Peter's release from the prison of Agrippa I the Great.
Giovanni Ghisolfi was a Baroque painter born in Milan, where he began his training with his uncle, the painter Antonio Volpino. At the age of 17 he moved to Rome with Antonio Busca, where he worked on "vedutta" and "capricci", i.e. mainly landscapes with ruins and architectural elements, usually with figures. He is also known for religious works.
In 1661 he worked in Pavia and three years later he was called to Vicenza for landscapes in the Palazzo Trissino Baston and the Palazzo Guistiniani Baggio. He worked on other palaces and chapels in Caetano, Varese, etc. Today his work is preserved in some of the chapels for which he painted, in important private collections and in major institutions (National Gallery in Prague, Musée des Beaux-Arts in Narbonne, the NGV International in Melbourne, Australia, the Liechenstein Museum in Vienna, etc.), among others.