Circle of LUCA GIORDANO (Naples, 1634 - 1705). "San Francisco de Asis". Oil on canvas. It presents a Spanish frame from the 18th century.

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OLD MASTERS & SCULPTURE - Day 2

By Setdart Auction House

Jun 1, 2021

Set Reminder 2021-06-01 09:45:00 2021-06-01 09:45:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : OLD MASTERS & SCULPTURE - Day 2 https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/setdart-auction-house/old-masters-sculpture---day-2-6999
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• Lot Description
  Circle of LUCA GIORDANO (Naples, 1634 - 1705). "San Francisco de Asis". Oil on canvas. It presents a Spanish frame from the 18th century. Measures: 79 x 63 cm; 87 x 70.5 cm (frame). In this very intimate, sober and devotional scene, the artist portrays St. Francis in prayer, in a totally austere setting where only a few elements stand out, which allow us to recognize the iconography of the Saint. St. Francis is depicted half-length, slightly tilted, with his hands open in an attitude of appeal for clemency. His gaze is raised towards the sky, where the Cross is located, delimited by a beam of light, which defines its relevance in the scene. The thick brushstroke defines a rotund figure, of deep humanity, with great economy of color, limiting itself to the range of browns, which only emphasizes the message of humility and mystical simplicity that the saint advocated throughout his life. It is interesting to note how the author reinterprets some iconographic elements, as is the case of the belt. Instead of the usual three knots, it has a small skull, which turns this religious scene into a vanitatum or vanitas. Reminding the viewer of the transience of life, and the need for exemplary behavior, consecrated to the values of the Church. Due to the technical characteristics, such as the directed light, the sobriety of the color palette and the composition of the scene, this scene can be inscribed in the Italian Baroque, especially linked to the artistic circle of Luca Giordano (Naples, 1634-1705), who created scenes very similar to the one presented here, such as the one in the Museo de Bellas Artes de Cuba. Giordano enjoyed great popularity during his lifetime, both in Italy and Spain. Artists such as Mattia Preti, Rubens, Bernini and, above all, Pietro da Cortona, whose physical types inspired Giordano's, influenced the maturation of his style. During the last years of the 1670s he began his great mural decorations (Montecassino, 1677-1678, and San Gregorio Armeno, Naples, 1679), followed, from 1682, by the dome of the Corsini chapel in the church of Carmine (Florence) and those of the gallery and library of the Palazzo Medici Ricardi (Florence). In 1692 he was called to Madrid to carry out the mural decorations of the monastery of El Escorial, both in the staircase and in the vaults of the basilica, where he worked between 1692 and 1694. The first is his most painstaking work, whose process was closely followed by the monarch himself, Charles II. This was followed by the decoration of the office and bedroom (destroyed) of the monarch in the Royal Palace of Aranjuez. Later he was commissioned to decorate the Casón del Buen Retiro (ca. 1697); the sacristy of the cathedral of Toledo (1698); the decoration of the royal chapel of the Alcázar (destroyed); and San Antonio de los Portugueses (1699), where Giordano represented eight scenes from the life of St. Anthony of Padua painted on tapestries. The arrival of Philip V in 1701 and the beginning of the War of Succession caused the end of royal commissions and his return to Naples, although he continued to send paintings to Spain.
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