LUCA GIORDANO, CALLED FA PRESTO | A wounded beggar;A beggar wrapped in blankets

Possibly commissioned by Marco di Lorenzo for the Pio Monte dei Poveri Vergognosi, Naples, circa 1670; Private collection, USA;

With Galerie Canesso, Paris.

R. Lattuada in Galerie Canesso, Luca Giordano, Paris 2015, online publication; R. Lattuada, 'Due dipinti di Luca GIordano per un evento effimero nel Monte dei Poveri Vergognosi di Napoli, e qualche nota sulle istituzioni caritativoli a Napoli nella seconda metà del Seicento', in Rendiconti dell'Accademia di Archeologia, Lettere e Belle Arti di Napoli, N.S., vol. LXXVIII, 2016–17;

L. Coiro, 'Memoria di un ricco beccaio: Marco di Lorenzo tra Masaniello e viceré', in Napoli Nobilissima, series VII, vol. III, 2017, files II–III, pp. 54–58.

Please note both paintings fell from a wall a few years ago and were subsequently carefully restored over a period of some twelve months in order to address the losses. As stated in Henry Gentle's independent condition report below, these were mostly limited to the lower and left edges of both paintings, but some other areas of now-restored losses can also be found, as inspection under ultra-violet light readily confirms. The following condition report is provided by Henry Gentle who is an external specialist and not an employee of Sotheby's: Luca Giordano The Beggar Oil on canvas, 30" x 40", approx. The original canvas is lined and the paint layer is raised with some instability. Under U-V light paint loss can be detected to the left hand and bottom edges and through the figure of the child, particularly through the knee line and into the adult figure. Further minor scattered loss is distributed through the image . Compromised glazing to some of the darker passages, such as the shadows of the beggar's robe and the child's face , is apparent. The varnish has discoloured and there is the remains of a much older varnish extant. Removal of this residue will enhance the image. Many areas of the painting are in a good original state. The Leper Oil on canvas, 30' x 40" The original canvas is lined and there is instability visible to the paint layer. Earlier restored paint loss can be detected through and above the leper's head and in to the background and along the bottom and left hand edges. Additional loss to the body of the leper and ,to a lesser extent, to the figure of the child can be detected under U-V light. Many areas of the composition remain in good original condition and removal of the discoloured varnish would improve the tonality of the image.
"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."

These two unusual canvases were painted by Luca Giordano, that most chameleon-like of baroque artists, in around 1670. In the first painting we find an injured man, his head revealing a wound around the eye, his legs hurt or broken. In the cap he extends towards us we find a solitary coin, while the child to the right does his best to draw further attention to his companion. In the second painting we also find a figure asking for alms, this time a lady of good birth who has found economic hardship and wears a cape over her face to hide her identity and her shame (the meaning of 'vergogna' in Italian). Beside her a child is also clad in rags, and the two parsnips under the jug seem to be all their next meal will offer them. Lattuada reasonably suggests that the subject of the pictures probably discounts a commission from a private patron. Quoting archival discoveries made by Eduardo Nappi, Lattuada associates the two works with a probable commission by a charitable institution in Naples called the Pio Monte dei Poveri Vergognosi which on 1 February 1670 is listed as paying Giordano 15 ducats and then a further 25 'per li ritratti che doverà fare per servizio de detto Monte'.¹ Three weeks later he was paid 5 ducats and 26 grana for the remaining balance and for the frames of the 'due tabbelle del detto Monte'.² Lattuada convincingly argues that this relatively small sum of money was well below the amount Giordano would normally have charged and that this relative discount would befit work carried out for a charity. He also proposes that the word 'ritratto' be considered in a broader sense, in this case as a depiction of poverty, rather than as a literal portrait of a person.

Furthermore, Lattuada quotes the findings of Luigi Coiro (see Literature), who proposes that the money available to the Pio Monte was a direct result of the bequest of a certain Marco di Lorenzo, a butcher who left a fabulous amount of money to several charities in Naples upon his death. The present canvases would have been painted for the Pio Monte to illustrate the types of charitable good deeds they undertook and were exhibited as processional banners during di Lorenzo's funeral.

The attribution has been independently endorsed by Professors Giuseppe Scavizzi and Riccardo Lattuada; the latter's comprehensive study of the works (see Literature) serves as the basis for this note.

1 Archivio Storico Banco di Napoli, Banco dei Poveri, matricola 451 and 453, quoted from E. Nappi, 'Momenti della vita di Luca Giordano nei documenti dell'Archivio Storico del Banco di Napoli', in Ricerche sul '600 napoletano, 1991, pp. 161, 164, note 101, p. 174, doc nos. 138–39.

2 Archivio Storico di Napoli, Banco dei Poveri, giornale matricola 453: 'Partita di 5 Ducati e 26 grana del 21 febbraio 1670./ Alli Governatori del Monte dei Poveri Vergognosi conto corrente ducati 5,26. Et per essi a don Teodoro Giura loro secretario, dissero per saldo e final pagamento di tutte le spese fatte per le due cornici fatte per le due tabelle del detto Monte, come ogni altra spesa fatta per servizio del detto Monte, isuta il libro di spese da detti Signori visto e liquidato dal loro Rationale'.