Giacinto Gimignani (Pistoia 1606-1681 Rome)

Illustrating the encounter between Ariadne and Bacchus, this elaborate study by Gimignani is in preparation for his large canvas (123.5 x 149.5 cm) now in the Ormož Regional Museum, Ptuj, Slovenia (F. Zeri, K. Rozman, Maestri europei dalle collezioni slovene, Ljubljana 1993, no. 19), as recognized by Ursula Fischer Pace. The sheet records an early idea for the painting, where the figures are displayed in reverse order. Possibly related to this composition is a second drawing in the Pinacoteca Civica, Pesaro (C. Giardini et al., Dipinti e disegni della Pinacoteca Civica di Pesaro, Modena 1993, no. 21, as Giovanni Boulanger). We are grateful to Jörg Martin Merz for confirming the attribution based on a digital photograph.