Pier Francesco Mola

Possibly Lorenzo Onofrio Colonna, 8th Duke and Prince of Paliano, Rome, by 1679;
Possibly Cardinal Giovan Battista Costagui, Rome, by 1714.

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 painting has been recently restored, even though the canvas appears to retain its older lining, and the condition is very good. Under ultraviolet light the recent varnish fluoresces very strongly yet nonetheless the retouches that have been applied are visible in the lower left and lower right corners and in a few isolated spots in the background. There are also a few retouches in the book and the hand, and in the head there only appear to be some retouches in the beard in the face. Despite the losses and restorations the painting reads very well and the condition is generally very good.
"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."

This moving depiction of Saint Joseph is executed in Mola's typically corporeal style, imbuing the flesh with a convincing solidity through the thick application of paint in a crisscrossing buildup of strokes.  The carpenter's weathered hands are executed with a rich cross hatching of marks, tenderly conveying their rough surface.  The light, emanating from the upper right, touches the crumpled pages of the open book, the wrinkled forehead and ear, and the ruffled, thick hair, all of which are painted with exquisite naturalism.  Mola's expert use of chiaroscuro emphasizes the delicate almond flowers of the blooming staff which, recalling the story of Joseph's election by the Virgin, spring from the dark obscurity of the background, their fragility contrasting with the ruggedness of the figure.

Due to the large number of paintings executed by the artist which appear in inventories and sales under erroneous or ambiguous titles such as Head of a Philosopher or Head of a Saint, early provenance for pictures of this kind are somewhat problematic to trace.  In an inventory for the collection of Lorenzo Onofrio Colonna, dated 1679, an entry appears referring to a work "di p.mi 2 ½ , e 2 con una testa di un vecchio opera del Mola..." (Archivio Colonna, Subaico) while again in an inventory for the collection of Cardinal Giovan Battista Costagui, dated 31 January 1714, we find an entry for "Altro quadro di tela da testa con cornice liscia dorata, con un Vecchio, del Mola" (Archivio di Stato di Roma) both entries correspond dimensionally with the present canvas and it could indeed be conjectured that they are the same work.¹    

While the majority of the Mola's oeuvre was completed between the time of his establishment in Rome and his death in 1666, the present canvas is a rare early work, dated by Petrucci between 1645 and 1649.  Stylistically, the canvas displays parallels with Mola's Adoration of the Shepherds, now in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna dating to the same decade, with both works manifesting the artist's distinctly, native Lombard aesthetic before his move to Rome.  In his mature period the artist adopted the Roman inclination toward Classicism and employed a richer palette, yet here he continues to utilize more muted hues, creating impact instead through the dramatic use of chiaroscuro and the frank treatment of the subject matter. 

We are grateful to Francesco Petrucci for endorsing the attribution to Pier Francesco Mola upon firsthand inspection and for his assistance in the cataloguing of this work.  It will be published in Petrucci's forthcoming monograph on the artist.

1.  Archivio Colonna, Subaico, III QB 18, folio no. 163-209; Archivio di Stato di Roma, Not. A.C., vol. 5136, 1714, folio no. 253-266.