Domenico Antonio Vaccaro

Marqués de San Nicolás;
In the collection of the family of the present owner for three generations.

ENGRAVED:
Peter Jacob Gaultier

The canvas has been relined. The lining is stable but a little uneven in the top right hand corner. There are a number of scattered old repaired damages including three diagonal tears or scrapes: the largest 20 cm in length, running through the fabric of the angels' dress, another 12 cm tear above the heads of the kneeling figures, and an L-shaped 3 x 3 cm tear on the upper right margin. Other repairs are local and secondary apart from a 2 x 2 cm repaired patch in the upper left hand corner. The majority of the paint surface is otherwise beautifully preserved and the painting in very good overall condition. The varnish is even but a little discoloured. Offered with a narrow plain wood frame, in fair condition.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

This painting may be considered a preparatory sketch for Vaccaro's signed work of 1730, executed for the ceiling of the Chiesa Collegiata di Santa Maria delle Grazie, Marigliano, which is square in format and consequently does not include the right-hand third of the present composition.¹ When Vaccaro embarked on the ceiling in Marigliano he had established a more prominent reputation as a sculptor and an architect in the preceding decades, although he had trained in the studio of Francesco Solimena in the late 1600s, working in a distinctive Rococo style. He produced several large works for other Neapolitan churches in the 1730s, such as the paintings in the Chiesa di Santa Maria, Monteverginella.

We are grateful to Professor Nicola Spinosa for his help in the cataloguing of this lot.

1. See G. Rinaldi, S. Maria delle Grazie, insigne Collegiata in Marigliano. Cinquecento anni di storia ed arte, Naples and Rome 1993, pp. 85–87, reproduced p. 86, plate 34.