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Though no longer well-known today, in his lifetime Mancini was declared to be the greatest living painter by John Singer Sargent. Mancini’s painting combines naturalistic observation of the model, posing as the religious figure, with an idiosyncratic technique. To plan the structure of the composition, Mancini used two string grids—one in a frame placed in front of the model and another stretched across the surface of the canvas itself. He painted in thick impasto over the gridded canvas, removing the strings while the paint was still damp. The resulting dramatic texture is most evident here across the figure’s shoulders.
Saint John the Baptist
Antonio Mancini (Italian, 1852–1930)
early 1890s
Medium/Technique
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
200 x 80.5 cm (78 3/4 x 31 11/16 in.)
Credit Line
Tompkins Collection—Arthur Gordon Tompkins Fund
Accession Number20.850
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsEurope
ClassificationsPaintings
Though no longer well-known today, in his lifetime Mancini was declared to be the greatest living painter by John Singer Sargent. Mancini’s painting combines naturalistic observation of the model, posing as the religious figure, with an idiosyncratic technique. To plan the structure of the composition, Mancini used two string grids—one in a frame placed in front of the model and another stretched across the surface of the canvas itself. He painted in thick impasto over the gridded canvas, removing the strings while the paint was still damp. The resulting dramatic texture is most evident here across the figure’s shoulders.
ProvenanceUntil 1920, Mary Smyth (Mrs. Charles) Hunter (b. 1856 - d. 1933), London and Hill House, Epping, England [see note 1]; 1920, sold by Mrs. Hunter to the MFA for £2000 ($8200). (Accession Date: August 5, 1920)
NOTES:
[1] Mrs. Hunter almost certainly acquired the painting directly from the artist. She and her husband patronized him, and Mancini stayed with them during a visit to London in 1908. See Michele Biancale, Antonio Mancini: La Vita (Rome, n.d.), 122-125.
NOTES:
[1] Mrs. Hunter almost certainly acquired the painting directly from the artist. She and her husband patronized him, and Mancini stayed with them during a visit to London in 1908. See Michele Biancale, Antonio Mancini: La Vita (Rome, n.d.), 122-125.