(Naples 1604-1670)
Saint Cecilia,
oil on canvas, 71 x 60.5 cm, framed 

We are grateful to Riccardo Lattuada for confirming the attribution of the present painting on the basis of a high resolution digital photograph and for suggesting that the present painting should be dated to circa 1630.
During this initial phase of his career, Vaccaro fused the dominant style, the Bolognese classicism of Guido Reni, with the luminous local Caravaggist tradition.

Vaccaro’s output is distinguished by his depiction of female Saints represented in moments of profound devotion or inspiration. In these composition the Saint is often represented half length, with pale flesh tones that contrast against a dark ground. Moreover, he was always careful to omit any visible reference to cruelly of their violent martyrdoms. Instead, with a quietly intimate pictorial language (see R. Lattuada,I percorsi di Andrea Vaccaro (1604-1670), in: M. Izzo, Nicola Vaccaro (1640-1709). Un artista a Napoli tra Barocco e Arcadia, Todi 2009, pp. 49-108).

The present painting represents Saint Cecilia, a Roman noblewoman who converted to Christianity shortly before she was to be married, an action for which she was consequently executed. In the present painting she is represented according to tradition, with the crown of flowers placed upon her head by the angel at the moment of her conversion, and intently playing a musical instrument, which is the distinctive attribute of her role as the patron saint of music.