Melchiorre Gherardini agli esordi: dalla S ant’Orsola di Merate alle tele novaresi. Novità e considerazioni

the essay focuses on the early production of the Milanese painter and engraver Melchiorre Gherardini (1603-1668), pupil of Cerano. A new unpublished correspondence found in the parish archives of the church of Sant’Ambrogio in Merate certifies Gherardini’s authorship of the canvas with the S t . O r s o l a. the painting proves to be a benchmark in Gherardini’s early production and a term of comparison to investigate which promptings, alongside the example of Cerano, influenced the artist’s training leading him to elaborate his own stylistic signature