Q136479010

This undated work by Ludovico Carracci in the Pinacoteca Nazionale di Bologna sits within the most important institutional collection for studying his output. The Pinacoteca was partly built around the dispersal of suppressed religious institutions in the Napoleonic era, which returned to Bologna many of the altarpieces Ludovico had painted for local churches. Viewing his undated works in that context means many were originally liturgical objects removed from their intended settings. Ludovico died in Bologna in 1619 having spent most of his life in the city, unlike his cousin Annibale who achieved greater international fame in Rome. His local importance was immense, and the Pinacoteca's holdings give the fullest picture of his sustained production across religious, mythological, and devotional genres.

Undated Ludovico canvases in the Pinacoteca are typically assessed stylistically against the range of his development from the 1580s to the 1610s. Early works show tighter, more laboured paint handling; later works achieve a looser and more atmospheric quality. The Bolognese academic tradition of careful underdrawing and structured glazing is evident throughout his career.