(born circa 1616, Naples active circa 1636–1656/58)
Putti with a dog,
oil on canvas, 130 x 128 cm, framed

Provenance:
Private European collection

We are grateful to Nicola Spinosa for suggesting the attribution on the basis of a photograph.

Antonio de Bellis is considered to be one of the leading figures of Seicento painting in Naples, however details of his life and career are scarce. One of his earliest biographers, Bernardo De’ Dominici states that the artist started his artistic career as a pupil of Massimo Stanzione and praised his works highly: ‘ad ogni modo si vede in essi l’ottimo componimento, con che sono ideate, il buon disegno, e l’intendimento di chiaroscuro, con belli accidenti di lumi’ [‘in every instance we see in them the excellent composition with which they are conceived, as well as good design and understanding of chiaroscuro, with beautiful accents of light’] (see B. De’ Dominici, Vite de’ Pittori Scultori ed Architetti Napoletani, Naples 1742 [1979 ed.], vol. III, p. 111).

The naturalism apparent in the present painting is a typical example of the artist’s production of the 1630s, inspired by the style of Jusepe de Ribera and the Master of the Annunciation to the Shepherds. Three putti crowd around a dog, which they hold by reins like a horse and attempt to mount. The artist gives us different views of the boys and one depicted from behind leads the viewer into the composition set against a dark, brownish background. The Caravaggesque lighting creates a play of light and shadow on his skin. His foot position is reflected in the boy on the left, dressed in a white tunic, holding the reins tightly.

The flesh tones of the sitters are built up by fast, dynamic brushstrokes. The diffuse darker contours are striking, as are the faces left in (semi-)darkness, which can also be found in other paintings by De Bellis, for example in the Saint Sebastion cured by the widow Irene, registered in the Fototeca Zeri under no. 50967. The red-headed bird on a string in the upper right corner, is richly detailed and finely modelled and forms a graphic counterbalance to the predominant painterly style.