Review by Choice Review
The painting highlighted here was hidden away in the 18th century, when it roused the scorn of Neoclassicists like Mengs, and it was only recovered from the University for the Prado in the mid-1960s. It has recently been conserved, and its curator makes a persuasive though necessarily ambitious case, with the help of gorgeous photographs, that this painting deserves to be considered one of the gems of the Prado. The essays are of extraordinary interest, setting the work in the context of changing stylistic tastes, changing notions of decency, and the evolving historiography of Italian Baroque art. In two brief and readable essays, curator Ubeda de los Cobos thoroughly introduces the artistry of Annibale. Next comes the conservator Morales's essay, with photographs of the canvas before treatment to make one wince, and finally an essay by Mozo, which will delight artists in particular, on how the painting was made, down to brushstrokes. Both sophisticated and accessible, this seems less an exhibition catalog than a charming invitation to become better acquainted with a painting that, before reading, might not seem extraordinary. ^BSumming Up: Recommended. General readers; lower-division undergraduates through professionals. P. Emison University of New Hampshire
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
