Aggiunte bergamasche al catalogo di Gian Giacomo Barbelli

The great altarpiece in the church of the Immacolata in Pognano — portraying the Visitation — is an unpublished painting by Gian Giacomo Barbelli. The canvas, which has recently been restored, originally decorated the main altar of the old parish church, which was in fact named after the Visitation. The church was rebuilt by popular vote after the plague of 1630; the new altarpiece was probably commissioned from the artist by the lay community. As for the dating, a post quern for the work can be placed around 1632, when the building was not yet finished, and ca. 1634, because of analogies with other works by the painter. The article provides an opportunity to make more precise statements on two other canvases by Barbelli in the Bergamo area that are now housed in Piazzatorre in the upper Val Brembana.