Saint John the Evangelist (Domenichino)
Saint John the Evangelist | |
---|---|
Oil on canvas | |
Dimensions | 259 cm × 199.4 cm (102 in × 78.5 in) |
Location | private collection |
Saint John the Evangelist is a 1620s painting by the Italian Baroque painter
History
The painting is thought to have been commissioned by either
Despite the prestigious commission, the date of the painting's execution remains unclear. Richard E. Spear, author of numerous publications on 17th-century Italian painting and one of the foremost scholars on the life and work of Domenichino,[2] put the work at around 1627 to 1629. This is due to stylistic similarities with works such as the Sant'Andrea della Valle's Saint John. An alternative theory, put forward in Squarzina's analysis of the 1938 Giustiniani inventory, speculates that the work could be from before 1621. Others have concluded dates between 1624 and 1628.
The painting descended via Vincenzo Giustiniani's heir to Prince Benedetto Giustiniani, in whose posthumous inventory of 1793 it appears, then to Andrea Giustiniani, who in 1804 declined a purchase offer of 6,500
It was then auctioned at Christie's again in 1899 on the death of Cecil Miles, 3rd Baronet who was Philip John Miles's great-grandson – this time it was bought in at 100 guineas and subsequently sold for 70 guineas to M. Colnaghi, acting as agent for Augustus Langham Christie of Tapeley Park, Devonshire and Glyndebourne, East Sussex, part of the Christie family. The painting passed down through that family (later headed by
Description
The composition is said to have been inspired by classical sculpture, with some commentators pointing specifically to The Laocoon.[1] This is also evident in Domenichino's other large-scale treatments of the subject such as Madonna and Child with the Saints John the Evangelist and Petronius and the pendentive in the church of Sant'Andrea della Valle. The painting also includes an example of the artist's landscape painting, an aspect of his work that was particularly influential on the likes of Claude Lorrain and Nicolas Poussin. This element of the work was originally more compressed into the right-hand section of the canvas, the architecture taking precedence. However, Domenichino reconsidered this layout and over painted an extension of the landscape onto the wall. Other alterations are also visible in the books, the hand of the right putto and the larger hill of the landscape.
Notes
- ^ a b Christie?s. "Domenico Zampieri, Il Domenichino (Bologna 1581-1641 Naples)". Retrieved 19 June 2015.
- ^ "Richard E. Spear". Retrieved 19 June 2015.
- ^ Glyndebourne family to sell Old Master for £10 million, London Evening Standard, 9 Sept 2009
- ^ 'Saved' Domenichino painting loaned to National Gallery, Guardian, 18 May 2010
- ^ "Baroque painting by master Domenichino saved for nation". BBC News. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
- ^ "Private collector's £9.2m saves masterpiece from export - News - Art - The Independent". The Independent. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
- ^ Ignacio Villarreal. "Domenichino Masterpiece to Be Offered at Christie's Auction of Old Masters and 19th Century Art". Retrieved 19 June 2015.
Sources
- Zuffi, Stefano, Gospel Figures in Art, 2003. ISBN 0-89236-727-X.
- Art Daily, Domenichino Masterpiece to Be Offered at Christie's Auction of Old Masters and 19th Century Art, Art Daily, retrieved on 2009-11-14.
- Christie's, Domenico Zampieri, Il Domenichino (Bologna 1581-1641 Naples) | Saint John the Evangelist, Christie's, retrieved on 2009-11-14.
- Spear, R.E., Richard E. Spear Home Page, Richard E. Spear Home, retrieved on 2009-11-14.