The Martyrdom of St. Stephen

After Annibale Carracci (1560–1609)

A studio copy (?). 17th c. Oil on canvas

The painting is a very close replica of “The Martyrdom of St. Stephen” (1603-1604) by Annibale Carracci, the founder of Roman academic baroque art. Carracci’s painting is currently housed in The Louvre in Paris. Annibale Carracci was the most admired and successful painter of his time. In order to fill all the extensive orders he received, Carracci ran a big studio in Rome with numerous assistants.

Carracci made several paintings on the topic of Saint Stephen’s martyrdom. Some of the works he painted himself, but most of them were made by his studio. Some of the artists who worked at Carracci’s studio are known by name, e.g. his nephew Antonio Carracci, or Domenico Zampieri; both of them have also been suggested as executors of the painting at the Kadriorg Art Museum. In the case of such an exact replica, it is not possible to make an attribution on the basis of stylistic analysis, therefore it is safer to claim in general terms that the skilful copy is a work by Carracci’s studio.