XVII-XVIII CENTURY (?), The Ecstasy of St. Cecilia

Plaque in coated bronze. 23,1 x 17,4 x 1 cm

The beautiful plaque depicting the ecstasy of St. Cecilia evokes the painting made by Raphael in the early 16th century for the Bolognese noblewoman Elena Duglioli. She was inspired by the life of the saint and lived, although married, in a regime of chastity as a virgin bride. She was later beatified.

The panel was exhibited in Bologna until the Napoleonic spoliations and returned along with the works of art recovered by Canova in the early 19th century. This sacred conversation was replicated in painting and also in bronze, as we can see in this devotional plaque.

It is difficult to agree on the period of production although the materiality of the artifact and its splendid coating place it possibly in the 17th century or early 18th century.