Paolo Farinati

With Victor D. Spark, New York by 1946, from whom acquired by;
Count Ivan Podgoursky, in 1946;
Thence by descent in the family.

Little Rock, Arkansas, Museum of Fine Arts, The Face of Christ in Art, 11 February - 8 March 1956, no. 41;
Wichita Falls, Texas, Philbrook Museum of Art, Four Centuries of European Art: An Exhibition of Paintings from the Collection of Count Ivan Podgoursky, October 1956, no. 5;
El Paso, Texas, El Paso Public Library, An Exhibition of Paintings by Famous Masters of Four Centuries, 25 January - 15 February 1957, no. 27.

The Face of Christ in Art, exhibition catalogue, Little Rock 1956, cat. no. 41, reproduced 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 work on slate is in an elaborate frame with a red velvet liner. The liner may be seen to be a little old fashioned today, but the frame is very impressive. The slate is unbroken. The paint layer is quite dirty, but the work has an attractive finish and could be hung as is. If it were cleaned, a few small losses would reappear, but none of them seem to be applied in the lighter colors of the figures. The retouches are probably focused on isolated spots in the darker colors and possibly in the deep red gown in the lower left.
"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This previously unpublished Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine is a beautiful example of Paolo Farinati’s style.  Painting on slate, the artist here exploits the medium to add prominence to the figures, thrown into relief against the dark background and foliage.  Using a soft, muted palette, he highlights the figures’ drapery with shimmering touches of white in a manner reminiscent of Paolo Veronese and typically favoring line over color, he creates a strong chiaroscuro effect.  The figure of the Madonna here recalls that in his Madonna and Child with the Infant Saint John the Baptist, also on stone, and now in a private collection.¹  The position of the head is comparable, though here tilted slightly lower, her golden hair is coiled in the identical manner along her hairline and the her yellow headscarf and is similarly placed, falling in tight, rippling folds denoting the fine fabric and highlighted with white.  The flesh of the Christ Child and putti is also represented here in a similar style to that of the infants in the Madonna and Child, softly modeled with a slight puffiness and flushed with delicate pink at the cheeks, elbows and knees.

Rather than training under his father, the painter Giambattista Farinati, Paolo received his early instruction in the workshop of Nicolo Giolfino whose eccentric style greatly influenced Farinati’s painting.  In a career spanning over sixty years he was a prominent figure in Verona’s artistic scene and, though rarely venturing beyond his home city, his influence reached as far as Garda and Piacenza. 

 

1.  G. Marini, P. Marini and F. Rossi, Paolo Farinati, 1524-1606: Dipinti, incisioni e disegni per l’architettura, pp. 183-184, cat no. 170, reproduced p. 184.