The Finding of Romulus and Remus, oil on canvas, 99.5 x 136 cm, framed

Provenance:
Peter Count Szembek, Siemianice Castle, Poland (1845-1896);
Jadwiga Countess Szeptycka, née Countess Szembek (after 1896);
Museum Narodowe, Warsaw (according to the museum as a loan/deposit), inv. no. 181863;
1964 restituted to the owner; private property, Poland

We are grateful to Professor Giancarlo Sestieri and Dr Monika Ochnio, who have confirmed the present painting as an autograph work by Konicz on the basis of photographs. The painting is accompanied by a certificate wirtten by Professor Sestieri.

Dr Ochnio believes that the painting was made around 1754, when Konicz was active in Rome, and compares it to two allegorical paintings by the artist in the National Museum of Warsaw. In 1747, Konicz was sent to Rome by his patron, Bishop Zaluski of Krakow. The artist was admitted to the local Académie de France and subsequently joined the Accademia di San Luca. In the 1750s, he painted large-sized altarpieces which, in terms of style and iconography, were dependent on works by Carlo Maratta and his circle. Around the same time, he developed a dynamic figure style, employing a cool palette oscillating between bluish grey and pink. The figures in his paintings occasionally also refer to Polish ethnic types. For example, he clad medieval saints in Baroque costumes of the Polish aristocracy. Konicz’s allegorical paintings reveal his intellectual maturity and knowledge of Baroque symbolism.