(Orta di Atella 1585–1656 Naples)
Roman Charity,
oil on canvas, 90 x 110.5 cm, framed

Provenance:
Private European collection, since the 1980s

We are grateful to Riccardo Lattuada for confirming the attribution after examining the present painting in the original.

The present painting shows Roman Charity, a subject taken from mythology: the story of Cimon and Pero. Pero, a courageous Roman woman, decided to save her elderly father who was condemned to die of hunger, by breastfeeding him. This gesture so moved the guards that they liberated the old Cimon.

This painting dates to Pacecco De Rosa’s maturity, from the 1640s or 1650s. During a period when he received significant commissions from the church. This work can be compared to other works from this period, including the Annunciation in Naples, in San Gregorio Armeno, The Meeting of Jacob and Rachel in the Pinacoteca ‘Corrado Giaquinto’ in Bari (inv. no. 1600035581), and the Meeting of Jacob and Rachel at the well in the Certosa of San Martino in Naples. The facial features of the female figures are similar, as is the use colour and light.

Pacecco de Rosa was the son of the painter Tommaso de Rosa. He trained with his stepfather, the Caravaggist painter Filippo Vitale (1585–1650), later continuing his studies in the studio of Massimo Stanzione (1585–1656) whose classical style was to be of enormous importance in the development of his painterly style. He was considered to be one of Stanzione’s most talented pupils. Pacecco’s work, The Massacre of the Innocents in the Philadelphia Museum of Art (inv. no. 1973-253-1), also demonstrates the influence of Stanzione on the artist, especially apparent in its luminous palette and attention to detail.