(Canale di Serino 1657–1747 Barra)
The Birth of Christ,
oil on canvas, 219 x 169 cm, framed

Provenance:
Galerie H. J. Brungs, Berlin;
E. Remak, Berlin;
Private collection, Düsseldorf;
sale, Weinmüller, Munich, 24 June 1965, lot 1452 (with a certificate by Hermann Voss identifying the painting as an autograph work by Solimena);
sale, Christie’s, London, 7 December 2010, lot 27

Exhibited:
Berlin, Galerie Wertheim, Italienische Malerei des 17. und 18. Jahrhunderts, May – June 1927, no. 132

Literature:
Der Kunstwanderer, September 1926 – August 1927, pp. 500 and 509, ill.;
N. Spinosa, Pittura napoletana del Settecento. Dal Barocco al Rococcò, Naples, 1993, p. 107, under no. 25

We are grateful to Professor Riccardo Lattuada for confirming the attribution of the present painting.

The present scene of the Birth of Christ, accompanied by angels and hovering putti and additionally featuring the episode of the Annunciation to the Shepherds in the background, is a characteristic example of Solimena’s refined Baroque compositions, characterised by differentiated contrasts of light and shadow, formal austerity, together with a decorative sense.

An almost identical version of the present painting of slightly larger dimensions (225 x 200 cm) was published by Spinosa (see literature) and dated to the years 1705–10. According to Spinosa, it is stylistically most closely related to the composition of Christ Appearing to the Madonna (Cleveland Museum of Art, Ohio). Around the same period, the artist also painted the scenes from the Life of the Virgin for the church of Santa Maria Donnalbina in Naples, which are dated to around 1700. By the early years of the 18th century, the artist had arrived at the peak of his career. The works dating from this period, including the present painting, reveal a classical approach dependent on Maratta, whom Solimena greatly admired. It seems highly probable that the artist visited Rome in 1701, where he painted the Rape of Orithyia (Galleria Spada, Rome) for Cardinal Fabrizio Spada Varalli. The clarity of drawing and the expressive gestures reflect the style of Roman classicism and a revived interest in ideal beauty.