Moretti Fine Art presents an altarpiece by the Lucchese Renaissance painter Ansano Ciampanti, on view at the Monte-Carlo gallery from 15 to 30 June. Originally painted for the Cathedral of San Martino in Lucca, the panel depicts Saint Jerome and Saint Joseph with the Donor, the Priest Clemente di Antonio Andrucci.
Also known as the Master of San Filippo, Ciampanti brings together Lucchese, Florentine and Flemish influences in a composition distinguished by precise detail and vivid colour. The firmly delineated figures stand against an elaborate landscape whose luminous surfaces lend it an enamel-like finish. These qualities reveal an artist responding to different pictorial traditions while developing an individual approach to form, colour and space.
Recent research has clarified the painting’s attribution and the circumstances of its commission. Analysis of the saints and the donor, shown kneeling at the left, together with archival evidence and records of pastoral visitations, has supported its identification as a work by Ciampanti originally intended for Lucca Cathedral.
Commissioned by Clemente di Antonio Andrucci for the chaplaincy dedicated to Saint Jerome and Saint Joseph, the altarpiece was made for the cathedral’s altar of San Pietro in Vincoli. Subsequently removed from its original setting, it later spent time in Britain before its presentation here in Monte-Carlo for the first time.
The exhibition offers an opportunity to examine the painting’s place within Ciampanti’s work and to trace its history from its original devotional setting to its rediscovery.