Carlo Francesco Nuvolone

Possibly the Dukes of Parma, before 1708 (see note);
Private Collection, London, circa 1927;
Mr. Frederick H.B. Ehrenreich, Pasadena, California, inherited from his late mother, 1960;
With Curtis Art Gallery, Pasadena, 1961;
From whom acquired by Constantine Cherkas, Santa Monica, California;
By whom sold to The J. Paul Getty Museum, Malibu, 1969.

Northridge, CA, Fine Arts Gallery of California State University at Northridge, Baroque Masters from The J. Paul Getty Museum, 26 February - 30 March 1973, no. 31.

"Recent Acquisitions of American and Canadian Museums," in The Art Quarterly, vol. XXXIV (Winter 1971) p. 498;
B. Fredericksen, Catalogue of the Paintings in The J. Paul Getty Museum, Malibu 1972, p. 50, no. 52;
F.M. Ferro, "Carlo Francesco Nuvolone e la ferita d'amore," in Studi di Storia dell'Arte in onore di Mina Gregori, Milan 1994, pp. 201-202, reproduced in detail, p. 202, fig. 11 (as incorrectly in a German collection); 
D. Jaffé, Summary Catalogue of European Paintings in The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles 1997, p. 93, reproduced;
F.M. Ferro, "Seicento. Carlo Francesco Nuvolone," in Museo d'Arte Antica del Castello Sforzesco. Pinacoteca, vol. III, Milan 1999, p. 204;
F.M. Ferro, Nuvolone:  una famiglia di pittori nella Milano del '600, Soncino 2003, pp. 206-207, no. cf 135, reproduced p. 359, fig. 41.

The following condition report has been provided by Simon Parkes of Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc. 502 East 74th St. New York, NY 212-734-3920, simonparkes@msn.com , an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. This large painting has been lined but the surface is quite wavy, particularly around the edges and in the lower left corner. The paint layer is very thickly varnished and under ultraviolet light there are only a few recent retouches which are clearly visible however, closer examination reveals older retouches to the lighter areas in the female figure, across her chest particularly. The painting is unevenly clean and there are patches of older varnish mixed in with cleaner areas nonetheless although the condition is not particularly good and the lining has its issues, the painting has a good deal of depth and strength and the restoration is competent.
"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."

The present painting is thought to represent a scene from Il Pastor fido, an epic poem by Giovanni Battista Guarini that was first published in Venice in 1590, and which enjoyed great popularity during the first decades of the 17th century.  A modern adaptation of the myth of Cephalus and Procis, Il Pastor fido tells the story of Silvio, the proud hunter who spurns the love of the shepherdess Dorinda.  Only too late does he recognize his love for Dorinda when he accidentally kills her with an arrow, having mistaken her for a wolf.  She dies in the arms of Silvio and her father Linco, the elderly shepherd who supports her in the present composition. 

Carlo Francesco Nuvolone painted many versions of the scene of Silvio, Dorinda and Linco, and also returned to the same theme of love and death in images of Cephalus and Procis.¹  The present canvas, however, is the largest and most dramatic.  The most obvious difference between the present work and other versions of the scene is the shift in the placement of Linco's right arm:  while in the present work, his arm is underneath Dorinda, supporting her, in the other versions, it comes over her, as if he is dragging or lifting her.  Additionally, here the figural group is pushed to the forefront of the picture plane and dominates almost three-quarters of the canvas.  The turbulent, stormy landscape that is depicted in bold, slashing strokes of paint is emotive and poetic.  

In his 2003 study of the Nuvolone, Filippo Maria Ferro suggests that this painting may be the one mentioned in the 1708 inventory of the Duke of Parma, given to Carlo Francesco's father, Panfilo Nuvolone:  "Quadro senza cornice alto br. 2 on. 9, largo br. 2 no. [sic] 3.  Una donna con seno nudo e ferita al petto, protesta con la sinistra in alto, e con la destra s'appoggia, vestita di rosso e manto turchino e bianco, due figure che la compiangono, in atto di sollevarla..."²  Giambattista Zaist in his Notizie istoriche de'Pittori, Scultori ed Architetti cremonesi of 1774  mentions the painting in his Vita of Panfilo, and notes that it had as a pendant a painting of Susanna at her Bath.³

It has also been suggested that this work might not represent Il Pastor fido, but rather a scene from another epic, La Gerusalemme liberata, written by the Italian poet Torquato Tasso and first published in 1581.  In this interpretation, the young woman would represent the Middle-Eastern princess Erminia, who betrays her people because of her love for the Christian knight Tancred.  When she discovers, however, that Tancred is in love with Clorinda, she steals the other woman's armor and joins a group of shepherds.  Such a reading could explain the two groups of soldiers that are visible in the tempestuous background, as such figures would be very out of place in the story of Silvio and Dorinda; however, the incredible similarity of this composition to Carlo Francesco Nuvolone's other depictions of Il Pastor fido would seem to suggest that it is the scene that is represented here.  In either case, the artist's subject, beautifully and powerfully rendered, is the pain and emotion of unrequited love, which can injure just as surely as death. 

1.  Examples include the Silvio and Dorinda that was sold Montecarlo, Sotheby's, 18 June 1988, lot 952, now in a private collection, and the Cephalus and Procris in the Galleria di Palazzo Bianco, Genoa (inv. no. PB 2871). 
2.  Trans: "Painting without frame, 2 br[accie] 9 on[ce] high, 2 br[accie] 3 on[ce] wide.  A woman with a naked breast wounded in the chest, gesturing with her left arm raised, and leaning on her right, dressed in red with a blue and white cloak, two figures that accompany her, in the act of raising her up," op. cit., pp. 206-207.
3.  See G. Zaist, op. cit., vol II. p. 73, and Ferro op cit., p. 207.  Based on the wording in Zaist's text, it appears that he had the 1708 inventory to hand, and was basing  his descripton-- and attribution-- upon it.