Attributed to GIOVAN BATISTA SALVI "Il Sassoferrato" (Sassoferrato, 1609 - Rome, 1685). "Madonna". Oil on canvas. Re-tinted. It presents restorations. Measurements: 48 x 36 cm; 59 x 47 cm (frame). Sassoferrato achieved great fame thanks to his devotional images in which the Virgin was normally the protagonist. As in this particular case, the bust of the Queen of Heaven is shown in a humble and gentle manner, concentrated in her prayer, with her hands folded before her breast. Portrayed bust-length and against a black background, the Virgin s face emerges from the shadows in a delicate manner, with rosy skin on her cheeks, her forehead raised and her cheekbones rounded. Despite her gesture of concentration in prayer, with her eyelids drooping and her head tilted downwards, Mary is portrayed by the artist with a faint smile that adds great warmth to the scene. This image is modelled on what is known as the "Madonna at Praying", which became extremely popular and a number of works have emerged that follow this aesthetic model, such as the one in the Mauritshuis collection in The Hague. This shows the notoriety of the scene, which in this case is emphasised by the presence of the blonde hair that rests on the Virgin s shoulders, slightly tousled. The work depicts a sorrowful woman, the representation of which has its roots in medieval times and was particularly widespread among the Servite order, founded in 1233. Giovanni Battista Salvi, better known as "Il Sassoferrato", began his training with his father, a local painter, in his native Marche. He then entered the Domenichino workshop in Rome, where he spent most of his career. He soon achieved great success, which lasted even after his death, thanks to his devotional paintings based on 15th- and 16th-century formulations, particularly those of painters such as Perugino, Raphael and Dürer. His most frequent subjects were Madonnas, alone or in the Holy Family, and saints. Salvi s work was particularly active in the private sphere with a restricted circle of patrons, consisting mainly of various members of the curia. The fact that Sassoferrato specialised in the production of paintings of an exclusively devotional nature, following the model of the icons, cannot be described as archaism. Rather, it reflects his accommodation to Bolognese taste. Nor can these preferences be understood as a provincial development, as the painter was mainly active in Rome. Rather than an isolated stylistic phenomenon, Sassoferrato s artistic production has been considered a sophisticated variant of the classicist tendencies always present in Roman seicentesque painting. His sweetly idealised virginal figures, such as the present Holy Family, were very popular. His work can be found in important institutions such as the National Gallery in London, the Museo del Prado in Madrid, the Palazzo Barberini in Rome and the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, among others.