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The depiction of fruit was one of the specialities of this versatile Roman artist, who also painted battle scenes -his most appreciated works in his own lifetime- genre scenes and leafy orchard gardens with life-size youths. Together with works by the enigmatic Master S.B. and by Mario Nuzzi, this canvas was commissioned to decorate the no longer extant Buen Retiro palace in Madrid.
This painting is both beautiful in appearance and enigmatic on account of its problems of attribution, its authorship having fluctuated between several artists, all belonging to the aesthetic environment of Michelangelo Merisi, Caravaggio. Indeed, although it is now definitely ascribed to Serodine, some critics still believe it to be the work of the latter. Its history can be traced back to 1647,
Falcone painted the figures in this painting; the Neapolitan specialist Luca Forte probably painted the vase of flowers on the left. It looks like a portrait gallery of real people, one of whom -the bearded man on the right- appears in other paintings by Falcone. The painting comes from the collection of the Duke of Medina de las Torres, viceroy of Naples between 1637 and 1644.
Like many other works by Andrea di Lione, Jacob’s journey, c.1635-65, was previously attributed to Genoese painter Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione (Il Grechetto). It is one of the most successful landscapes with figures by Lione, who first studied with battle painter Aniello Falcone (1607-1656) and later developed a more bucolic manner under the influence of Castiglione, whom he lived alongside in
This painting depicts the façade of Saint Peter’s as it was designed by the architect Carlo Maderno and before the re-modelling undertaken by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, who had the clock tower on the right demolished and added the colonnade that exists today. The ceremony taking place in the foreground remains unidentified. The buildings in this canvas were painted by Codazzi, while Falcone was
A satyr fills the wineglass of a fat, grotesque Silenus who smiles at another satyr seen from behind. This comic treatment of the classical myth derives from Ribera with whom Fracanzano worked from around 1630. Farina (2017) has related the figure of the satyr, who squeezes the grapes into the Silenus glass, with a drawing by the same author in a private New York collection.The canvas was in the c
The subject of the angelic consolation of Saint Francis became popular in the second half of the sixteenth century as a result of the Catholic Church´s renewed appreciation of his mystical experiences, almost to the exclusion of the more picturesque episodes of the saint´s life that had characterised traditional iconography; for example, his encounter with the wolf of Gubbio, and the invention of
These four paintings of flowers and sumptuary objects (P250, P251, P252 and P3239) are part of those sent from Rome to Madrid by Mario Nuzzi and other artists for the decoration of the Buen Retiro Palace. Nuzzi, also known as Mario dei Fiori, studied with his uncle Tommaso Salini, a follower of Caravaggio and one of the first still-life specialists active in Rome after the latter’s death. Nuzzi dr
Trained in the Roman Mannerist tradition, Giuseppe Cesari - known as the Cavaliere d’Arpino - evolved over his career towards a more naturalist language while retaining the artificial grace that characterised the work of his formative period. This is clearly evident in the fusion of sweetness and rigorous draughtsmanship in the holy figures in this canvas.
Giuseppe Recco, a member of one of the most famous families of Neapolitan still-life painters in the seventeenth century, was born in Naples on 12 July 1634. His vast output was consistently high in quality and is characterised by a marked cultural eclecticism, taking in a number of different still-life styles, from Spanish to northern European to Roman, with an unusual iconographic versatility.In
This Old-Testament scene (Tobias 11, 1-19), illustrates the moment when, following the Archangel Raphael´s instructions, Tobias places fish liver on his blind father´s eyes. Tobias the father and Tobias, the son, appear in company of the Archangel and Anne, the father´s wife, as well as a dog and a fish. This scene, the Archangel´s revelation and a song of praise mark the end the Bible´s book of T
Bernardo Strozzi was one of Genoa´s most outstanding early Baroque artists, and his work exemplifies the qualities and evolution of painting in the Ligurian capital. Moreover, his practice forged a brilliant artistic link between Genoa and Venice. Known as Il Prete Genovese, because he was a Capuchin monk, Strozzi received early training in the late Mannerist tradition from Cesare Corte (1550-c.16
The painting was given to Philip IV by Cardinal Francesco Barberini in 1656. It is unusual for being painted on a vitreous paste called aventurine, which acts as the background to the composition. It originally had an ornate silver and lapis lazuli frame, now lost, and was highly esteemed by the King, who displayed it in the Oratory of the Cuarto bajo in the Alcázar in Madrid.
The Bible story (Samuel 1:17) depicted here corresponds to the moment when, as a young shepherd, David kills Goliath, the giant, with his sling and cuts off his head to triumphantly exhibit it. The episode of tying the giant’s tresses to reveal his head has no iconographic precedent and is not explicitly mentioned in the Bible, making this work yet another example of Caravaggio’s originality and i
The lone figure of Saint Stephen is shown on the right of the composition with his hands crossed on his breast and his eyes raised to the heavens as he is stoned by his executioners. Cavallino was a Neapolitan painter who produced elegant, delicately painted works of small format.
The story of the Museo del Prado’s Roman Soldiers at the Circus is similar to that of Roman Athletes (P92) and to Andrea di Lione’s Elephants at a Circus (P91). This artist passed through Falcone’s workshop and his works have often been mistaken for those of his teacher. As is often the case in the History of Rome cycle, it is difficult to date this work, which is not mentioned by any contemporane
