(Monopoli 1612– ?1656 Naples)
Saint James the Less (?),
oil on canvas, 77.5 x 64 cm, framed

Provenance:
sale, Christie’s, New York, 25 May 1999, lot 123;
European Private Collection

Literature:
N. Spinosa, Pittura del Seicento a Napoli da Caravaggio a Massimo Stanzione, p. 280, no. 209, ill.

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

Spinosa dates the present work to the mid-1630s, the artist’s early period (see literature). It is comparable to the artist’s works Head of an Old Man, Saint Peter, an Apostle, and Saint Joseph, all of which are preserved in the Museo di Capodimonte in Naples. The entire group of these works betrays strong influences deriving from the art of Ribera, in whose studio the artist had worked together with his brother Cesare from 1622 onwards. The saint is represented as a half-length figure vigorously set off against the dark backdrop. The naturalistic and detailed rendering in intense colours applied with a saturated brush is characteristic of the artist. The present painting is also related to his compositions realised in 1635 for the church of San Gregorio Armeno in Naples. Besides Ribera’s influence, the present work also exhibits a close relationship to the Master of the Annunciation to the Shepherds and to Salvator Rosa, whose sister Fracanzano married in 1632.