Attributed to Sebastiano Ricci, 
Italian 1654-1726- 
The Ascension of Christ, an oil sketch; 
oil...

Attributed to Sebastiano Ricci, 
Italian 1654-1726- 

The Ascension of Christ, an oil sketch; 

oil on canvas, 74.6 x 62 cm. 

Provenance: 
The collection of Mr. Paul Rich (circa 1970s). 
With David Messum, Beaconsfield (according to label verso). 
Private Collection, UK. 

Literature: 
P. Cannon-Brooks, 'A Modello by Antonio Bellucci for Canons', The Burlington Magazine, CXVII, 1975, pp. 238-9 (as Antonio Bellucci). 
E.Young, 'Another Sketch by Antonio Bellucci for Canons', The Burlington Magazine, CXVII, 1975, pp. 240-2 (as Antonio Bellucci). 
F. Magani, 'Antonio Bellucci: Catalogo Ragionato', 1995, pp.203, R34 (as erroneously attributed to Antonio Bellucci). 

Note: 
Sebastiano Ricci was born in Belluno, but spent most of his career in Venice, and it is with the artistic climate of that city that he is most closely associated. A highly influential and successful artist, Ricci's dynamic and ambitious 'grand manner' style, which is often considered to bridge the gap between the Baroque and Rococo, gained him many international commissions, and the artist travelled widely, including to Britain. The present composition likely dates from the period Sebastiano Ricci spent here. 
Ricci arrived in London the winter of 1711, before returning to Venice in 1716. During the short time Ricci spent in England he was in high demand with royal and noble patrons, including Lord Burlington (1694-1753), for whom Ricci painted a cycle of wall paintings that still adorn Burlington House (now the Royal Academy) today, as well as King George III (1738-1820), who purchased many works from Ricci that are still held in the Royal Collection. Another influential patron who commissioned Ricci to complete an extensive decorative scheme was the Duke of Portland (1682-1726), who employed the Venetian artist to paint a cycle of religious scenes for the interior of his now-lost chapel at Bulstrode House, Buckinghamshire. 
The Bulstrode Chapel is known to have been adorned with scenes from the Life of Christ by Ricci, including the Last Supper and the Baptism of Christ, as well as, on the ceiling, a scene of Christ's Ascension. The work presented here, which is executed on a similar scale and with a comparable architectural surround to Ricci's surviving sketches relating to the Duke of Portland's chapel (including The Baptism of Christ, now in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1981.186, and the Last Supper, National Gallery of Art, 1943.4.32), could possibly be a preparatory oil sketch, or modello, for that now-lost work. 
Another oil sketch attributed to Ricci also depicting the Ascension of Christ is held in the collection of the Shipley Art Gallery in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear [TWCMS : C153]. That example is likely a version of the present composition in earlier stages of development. There are various small differences between the two sketches: the Shipley sketch shows the figure of Christ fully draped, has a slightly different distribution of supporting figures, and lacks the elaborate architectural surround that the present picture has in common with Ricci's surviving, more finished Bulstrode sketches at the Metropolitan Museum and National Gallery of Art. The variations between the two Ascension sketches may indicate that the artist was still experimenting with the composition. 
Both the Shipley oil sketch and the present work were previously attributed to Antonio Bellucci (1654-1726), a Venetian, like Ricci, who found success with British patrons when he arrived in this country in the 1710s. When Eric Young published the present sketch and the Shipley example in the 1970s, he connected them both to Bellucci's quatrefoil ceiling painting of the Ascension for the Duke of Chandos' chapel at Cannons (now located in the central nave at the Church of Saint Michael and All Angels at Great Whitley, Worcestershire). The attribution of the present work to Bellucci was later disputed by Fabrizio Magani in his catalogue of Bellucci's paintings. In his catalogue entry for the painting presented here, Magani points out the overall similarities between this work and the Shipley sketch, which he notes is definitively attributable to Ricci. 
The present, poignant scene shows the figure of Christ bare-chested, highlighting the greenish pale hue of his skin, which may be a reference to Christ's death and Resurrection. The partially draped figure of Christ recalls the central figure in the oil study now held in the collection of the Dulwich Picture Gallery [DPG195], which depicts Christ's Resurrection, and which was also painted during the period Ricci spent in Britain. That study relates to the fresco in the apse of the chapel at the Royal Hospital, Chelsea.