madonna col bambino e due angeli 

Domenico Fiasella painted this oil on canvas, Madonna col Bambino e due angeli, sometime in the first half of the 17th century. Fiasella was a key figure in the Genoese School, and this painting exemplifies its qualities: the Virgin’s serene expression, the sensuous rendering of fabrics, and the soft light, all speak to the influence of the Baroque movement in Italy. But there are other considerations when thinking about the artistic choices on display here. For one, Genoa was at this time a powerful maritime republic with close ties to Spain, and the Church was the main patron of the arts. This institutional arrangement shaped the kind of art being produced. To understand Fiasella’s work better we might ask, how were artists trained in Genoa at this time? What was the relationship between Genoa and the papacy? The answers to these questions help us appreciate how social and institutional forces find expression on the canvas.