(Naples c. 1585–1650) and Giovanni Francesco de Rosa, called Pacecco de Rosa (Naples 1607–1656)
Cain and Abel,
oil on canvas, 189 x 153, framed

A similar version of the present composition was sold at the Dorotheum on 12 October 2011, as lot 415.

The naturalistic quality and intense expressiveness of the present painting testify clearly to its origin from the artistic ambiance of Naples and the profound influence of Ribera, who settled in that city at the end of 1616. The close collaboration of Vitale and Pacecco is especially evident in works executed shortly before or after 1630: the Madonna and Child who present Saint Borromeo and Saint Dominic with the rosary in the Church of San Domenico in Naples, Lot and his Daughters in a Neapolitan private collection, Judith with the Head of Holofernes at the Fondazione Longhi in Florence, the Rest during the Flight in the Pinacoteca D´Errico in Matera (cf. V. Pacelli, Giovan Francesco de Rosa detto Pacecco de Rosa, 1607-1656, Naples 2008). A dating to the year 1630, or somewhat earlier, can be hypothesised for the present painting, the pictorial quality of which can be especially compared with the aforementioned Judith with the Head of Holofernes.

We are grateful to Nicola Spinosa, who examined the painting in the original, for confirming the attribution.