Adoration of the Shepherds
Bernardino Campi
(Cremona 1522 - Reggio Emilia 1591)
- Red chalk on brown paper Squared in red chalk
- 298 x 245 mm
This is the preparatory drawing for the painting now in a private collection, formerly housed in the church of S. Domenico in Cremona, above the altar of the Marquises Picenardi. Before reaching its current ownership, the work went through several transitions: taken to Paris by the Napoleonic army, it was returned to the Picenardi family in 1815, and later entered the Reichmann collection in Milan in 1870 (1). The painting dates back to 1574 and enjoyed great success among its contemporaries; this is evidenced by its mention in Alessandro Lamo's Discorso (1584), which celebrates it as a masterpiece for its masterful draftsmanship and handling of light (2).
Notes Show/Hide
(1) Giulio Bora, in Mina Gregori, Pittura a Cremona dal romanico al Settecento, Milan 1990, pl. 91, pag. 161, entry on pag. 274.
(2) Alessandro Lamo, Discorso di Alessandro Lamo intorno alla Scoltura, e Pittura…, in Giambattista Zaist, Notizie istoriche de’ pittori, scultori, ed architetti cremonesi, vol II, 1774, pag. 82.
