Circle of Annibale Carracci (Bologna 1560-1609 Rome)

Dr. John T. Spike concludes that this lot is painted in the 1640s in Rome. According to him the landscape is in the style of Giovanni Francesco Grimaldi (1606-1680) and could be an autograph early work by him. This explains the connections with the earlier landscapes of Annibale Carracci. The figures are noticeably Roman in style and could be by a different hand, very possibly the young Giovan Battista Passeri (1610-1679). We are grateful to Dr. John T. Spike for his help in cataloguing this lot on the basis of photographs (written communication, 21 March 2011).