Old Master & 19th Century Paintings
Old Master & 19th Century Paintings
Male head study
Lot Closed
September 20, 11:23 AM GMT
Estimate
6,000 - 8,000 GBP
Lot Details
Description
Francesco Solimena
Canale di Serino 1657–1747 Barra
Male head study
oil on paper laid down on canvas
unframed: 41.8 x 28.7 cm.; 16½ x 11¼ in.
framed: 52 x 41 cm.; 20½ x 16⅛ in.
This sketch, most likely painted from life, is a rarity in Solimena's œuvre. It was probably executed towards the end of the 1690s, the period when Solimena’s work combined both Baroque and Academic styles, influenced by the Roman classicism of Carlo Maratta. In these years he came to dominate the Neapolitan art scene, amassing a great fortune and running a prolific studio that employed artists such as Francesco de Mura, Corrado Giaquinto, Sebastiano Conca, and even Allan Ramsay.
We are grateful to Prof. Nicola Spinosa and to Prof. Riccardo Lattuada for endorsing the attribution to Solimena on the basis of digital images.