Giovanni Battista Caracciolo called Battistello Naples 1578 - 1635

S. Causa, Battistello Caracciolo. L’opera completa, Naples 2000, pp. 197-8, under cat. no. A89, reproduced on p. 292, fig. 282.

This painting is an autograph replica of a slightly smaller work, signed with Caracciolo’s monogram, which was until recently in the collection of the sculptor Emilio Greco in Rome and was recently sold by his heirs at Sotheby’s in Milan.¹ Roberto Longhi was the first to publish the ex-Greco version as a work by Caracciolo, and he dated it to 1616-22. Many scholars followed him in dating the work to the second decade of the 17th century, but the painting has more recently been correctly dated to the 1620s by Moir, Prohaska and Causa (the last of these in his 2000 monograph on the artist). It is reasonable to assume that the present replica was produced shortly after the ex-Greco one, and that it is datable to the 1620s also.

The composition of both paintings is extremely Caravaggesque: Saint John the Baptist emerges from the dark wilderness that surrounds him, a strong artificial light illuminating his naked torso and legs. Caracciolo silhouettes the Baptist’s raised right arm with a sharp light edge and the handling of his chest, strongly modelled through light and shadow, contrasts with the softness of his fur cloak; a texture which is completely lost in the ex-Greco version due to its condition. The Baptist’s body is seen slightly from below (‘dal sotto in su’) and this slight foreshortening of the figure gives him greater volume and presence. The reed he holds creates a striking diagonal across the whole composition and the Baptist’s gesture and half-open mouth both indicate that he is preaching to someone outside of the picture space. The harsh lighting only serves to underline the dramatic intensity of the scene; a technique inherited from Caravaggio but interpreted in Caracciolo’s own unique style.

The attribution of this painting to Battistello Caracciolo has been endorsed by Prof. Nicola Spinosa, Michael Stoughton, Dr. Wolfgang Prohaska, John T. Spike and, most recently, Stefano Causa.

1  Oil on canvas, 135 by 103 cm., sold Milan, Sotheby’s, November 29, 2005, lot 182, for €237,750; see S. Causa, under Literature, pp. 197-98, cat. no. A89, reproduced on p. 292, fig. 281.