Our Lady of Sorrows

Francesco Pieri (1699-1773)
1759, Polychromed wax on wood

Signed and dated on the back, this intense image of Our Lady of Sorrows is imbued with pathos, to which the soft wax lends greater immediacy. The artist had specialised in wax modelling from a young age: he preferred half-figures and low relief and showed a particular talent for executing portraits, so much so that he gained the protection of Gian Gastone de' Medici. On the death of his patron, the artist decided to leave Florence and moved to Naples in 1737, placing himself in the service of Charles of Bourbon. An almost identical version of the waxwork presented here may be found in a private collection. It is signed 'Franciscus Pieri cerarius fictor' and dated to the same year. Another Our Lady of Sorrows was donated by the artist in 1764 to the monastery of San Francesco degli Scarioni in Naples, where one of his sisters was a nun. The theme must have been particularly dear to Pieri, who often replicated it with slight variations.