Diana De Rosa, called Annella di Massimo
![Diana De Rosa, called Annella di Massimo - Old Master Paintings I Diana De Rosa, called Annella di Massimo - Old Master Paintings I](/fileadmin/lot-images/38A1910T1/normal/diana-de-rosa-gen-annella-di-massimo-6416808.jpg)
(Naples 1602–1643)
Saint Agatha,
oil on canvas, 61 x 52.5 cm, framed
Exhibited:
Capalbio, Palazzo Collacchioni, Immagini del tempo passato. Una raccolta toscana di dipinti antichi, 28 August - 11 September 2005, no. 10 (as Attributed to Antonio de Bellis)
Literature:
M. Fagioli/F. Marini (eds.), Immagini del tempo passato: una raccolta toscana di dipinti antichi, exhibition catalogue, Florence 2005, pp. 40-41, no. 10 (as Attributed to Antonio de Bellis);
G. Porzio, Ordine teatino e contesto artistico napoletano nel Seicento: Francesco Maria Caselli, Gaspare Del Popolo e una nota su Diana Di Rosa, in: D. A. D’Alessandro (ed.), Sant’Andrea Avellino e i Teatini nella Napoli del Viceregno spagnolo, Naples 2012, p. 601, ill. p. 614, plate 8 (as Diana de Rosa)
We are grateful to Riccardo Lattuada for suggesting the attribution to Diana de Rosa on the basis of a high-resolution digital photograph and for his help in cataloguing the present lot.
An image full of devotional intensity and beauty, Saint Agatha is depicted with the palm tree symbolizing her status as a martyr saint, and the left hand placed on her breast alluding to her martyrdom. The present painting is a significant example of the artistic importance and autonomy of Diana De Rosa, in the midst of the crowded creative context of painters who were active in Naples during the first half of the seventeenth century.
The picture, previously attributed to Antonio de Bellis (see literature)
as well as to Francesco Guarino, was given to Diana de Rosa by Giuseppe Porzio. It was possibly once part of a series of saints (see literature). Porzio dates the present Saint Agatha to the 1630s. Diana De Rosa, also called Annella di Massimo, achieved notable success as a painter and was one of the few female artists active in Naples during this period. She was the sister of the artist Pacecco De Rosa and according to the biographer Bernardo de’ Dominici, apparently without foundation, Diana was murdered by her husband, the painter Agostino Beltrano, who was supposedly jealous of her close, though platonic, relationship with Massimo Stanzione. It is known that Diana died in 1643, and by that time she had become one of the foremost painters of the Neapolitan artistic milieu.
The present painting can be compared to several works that have been grouped around the name of Diana De Rosa. She is thought to have painted two Stories of the Virgin in Santa Maria della Pietà dei Turchini in Naples. This group was added to by three more Stories of Mary executed for the church of San Giovanni Maggiore in Naples, two of which are today conserved in the Museo Diocesano of Naples (see F. Petrelli, Una luce su Annella de Rosa, in: Ricerche sul ‘600 napoletano. Saggi e documenti 2008, Naples 2009, pp. 87-92; G. Porzio in: P. L. Leone de Castris (ed.), Il Museo Diocesano di Napoli. Percorsi di Fede e Arte, Naples 2008, p. 132, no. 40; op. cit. Porzio, 2012, pp. 599-601, pp. 609-621, pls. 3-15). Among the paintings that have been credibly attributed to the painter, and to which the present work can be particularly compared, is a Holy Family in private collection (see op. cit. Porzio, 2012, plate 11). A Lucretia by Diana de Rosa, which Lattuada also compares to the present painting, was sold at Dorotheum (23 October 2018, lot 56).
22.10.2019 - 17:00
- Estimate:
-
EUR 30,000.- to EUR 40,000.-
Diana De Rosa, called Annella di Massimo
(Naples 1602–1643)
Saint Agatha,
oil on canvas, 61 x 52.5 cm, framed
Exhibited:
Capalbio, Palazzo Collacchioni, Immagini del tempo passato. Una raccolta toscana di dipinti antichi, 28 August - 11 September 2005, no. 10 (as Attributed to Antonio de Bellis)
Literature:
M. Fagioli/F. Marini (eds.), Immagini del tempo passato: una raccolta toscana di dipinti antichi, exhibition catalogue, Florence 2005, pp. 40-41, no. 10 (as Attributed to Antonio de Bellis);
G. Porzio, Ordine teatino e contesto artistico napoletano nel Seicento: Francesco Maria Caselli, Gaspare Del Popolo e una nota su Diana Di Rosa, in: D. A. D’Alessandro (ed.), Sant’Andrea Avellino e i Teatini nella Napoli del Viceregno spagnolo, Naples 2012, p. 601, ill. p. 614, plate 8 (as Diana de Rosa)
We are grateful to Riccardo Lattuada for suggesting the attribution to Diana de Rosa on the basis of a high-resolution digital photograph and for his help in cataloguing the present lot.
An image full of devotional intensity and beauty, Saint Agatha is depicted with the palm tree symbolizing her status as a martyr saint, and the left hand placed on her breast alluding to her martyrdom. The present painting is a significant example of the artistic importance and autonomy of Diana De Rosa, in the midst of the crowded creative context of painters who were active in Naples during the first half of the seventeenth century.
The picture, previously attributed to Antonio de Bellis (see literature)
as well as to Francesco Guarino, was given to Diana de Rosa by Giuseppe Porzio. It was possibly once part of a series of saints (see literature). Porzio dates the present Saint Agatha to the 1630s. Diana De Rosa, also called Annella di Massimo, achieved notable success as a painter and was one of the few female artists active in Naples during this period. She was the sister of the artist Pacecco De Rosa and according to the biographer Bernardo de’ Dominici, apparently without foundation, Diana was murdered by her husband, the painter Agostino Beltrano, who was supposedly jealous of her close, though platonic, relationship with Massimo Stanzione. It is known that Diana died in 1643, and by that time she had become one of the foremost painters of the Neapolitan artistic milieu.
The present painting can be compared to several works that have been grouped around the name of Diana De Rosa. She is thought to have painted two Stories of the Virgin in Santa Maria della Pietà dei Turchini in Naples. This group was added to by three more Stories of Mary executed for the church of San Giovanni Maggiore in Naples, two of which are today conserved in the Museo Diocesano of Naples (see F. Petrelli, Una luce su Annella de Rosa, in: Ricerche sul ‘600 napoletano. Saggi e documenti 2008, Naples 2009, pp. 87-92; G. Porzio in: P. L. Leone de Castris (ed.), Il Museo Diocesano di Napoli. Percorsi di Fede e Arte, Naples 2008, p. 132, no. 40; op. cit. Porzio, 2012, pp. 599-601, pp. 609-621, pls. 3-15). Among the paintings that have been credibly attributed to the painter, and to which the present work can be particularly compared, is a Holy Family in private collection (see op. cit. Porzio, 2012, plate 11). A Lucretia by Diana de Rosa, which Lattuada also compares to the present painting, was sold at Dorotheum (23 October 2018, lot 56).
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Auction: | Old Master Paintings I |
Auction type: | Saleroom auction |
Date: | 22.10.2019 - 17:00 |
Location: | Vienna | Palais Dorotheum |
Exhibition: | 12.10. - 22.10.2019 |