Jacopo Alessandro Calvi, called il Sordino

"The following condition report has been provided by Henry Gentle, an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. The noticeably coarse textured canvas is lined. The paint is stable and there are visible restored tears, now discoloured. There is slight abrasion to the more textured areas e.g. Orestes' helmet and Electra's sash, otherwise, the painting is in good original condition with well preserved impasto; a tonal improvement would be achieved with the removal of the varnish. Offered in a gilt and ebonised frame, with some losses."
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

Calvi, also known as "Il Sordino" (the little deaf one), was a pupil of Giuseppe Varotti (1715–80) and, through his master's influence he continued the tradition of Bolognese classicism. His figural types also show the influence of Ercole Graziani, Marcantonio Franceschini and Donato Creti. From about 1770 onwards many of his pictures, including his Self-portrait of 1770 in the Pinacoteca Nazionale in Bologna, became increasingly austere and Raphaelesque in handling and composition, anticipating nineteenth-century Bolognese Neo-classicism. His later works are close in style to his contemporary Gaetano Gandolfi (1734-1802). The present work can be compared to Calvi's Crucifixion in the church of San Giuliano in Bologna, painted circa 1780, and his Saint Agatha in the church of Zola Predosa, near Bologna, notably in the treatment of the figures' physiognomy and drapery.¹

The subject is taken from a scene in The Libation Bearers, part of a trilogy of Greek tragedies written by Aeschylus. Following the orders of the Delphic oracle, Orestes returns to Argos from protective exile to avenge his father Agamemnon's death. Orestes, carrying his own funeral urn, disguises himself as a messenger sent by his uncle Strophius to announce his death. In this scene, Orestes and Electra stand before the tomb of Agamemnon and recognize each other for the first time after years of separation. The pair later murder their adulterous mother and her new husband Aegisthus.

We are grateful to Dott.ssa Donatella Biagi Maino for proposing the attribution to Calvi following first hand inspection of the picture.

1. See A. Cera, La pittura bolognese del '700, Milan 1994, cat. nos. 12 & 13, reproduced.