Stefano Maria Legnani – Two Bozzetti in San Filippo Neri's Church, Genoa

Presentation of two bozzetti by Stefano Maria Legnani, in the choir of San Filippo Neri's Church,

on November 7, 2025.

The F. Baulme Fine Arts gallery is delighted to announce the recent presentation, within the San Filippo Neri's Church in Genoa, of two remarkable bozzetti by Stefano Maria Legnani (Milan, 1661–1713), known as Il Legnanino.

Formed in Bologna by Carlo Cignani, Legnani is one of the greatest Lombard painters of the second half of the seventeenth century. He honored many religious commissions in Milan, Turin, Monza. At the end of his life, he was asked by the Congregation of the Oratorians of Genoa to decorate the choir of San Filippo Neri's Church with two frescoes from the life of the patron saint, of which the two bozzetti, painted around 1712, constitute the preparatory sketches.

The final compositions faithfully reproduce most of the characters, but differ in their clearer, softer and brighter pictorial treatment. The bozzetti, on the other hand, reveal a more lively brushstroke, marked contrasts and a diffuse light emerging from the shadows – qualities characteristic of Legnani's easel painting.

Acquired by the Oratorian convent in 2025, these works are now displayed alongside the final frescoes, thus reclaiming their original context within the Church of San Filippo Neri!

Stefano Maria Legnani, Saint Philip Neri Distributing the Eucharist to the Sister of Saint Charles Borromeo,

circa 1712, oil on paper mounted on canvas, 57 x 42 cm, Genoa, Oratorian Convent.

Stefano Maria Legnani, Saint Philip Neri Preaching alongside Saint Charles Borromeo,

circa 1712, oil on paper mounted on canvas, 57 x 42 cm, Genoa, Oratorian Convent.

Stefano Maria Legnani, Saint Philip Neri Distributing the Eucharist to the Sister of Saint Charles Borromeo,

circa 1712, fresco, Genoa, San Filippo Neri's Church.

Stefano Maria Legnani, Saint Philip Neri Preaching alongside Saint Charles Borromeo,

circa 1712, fresco, Genoa, San Filippo Neri's Church.