(Sarzana 1589–1669 Genoa)
The Death of Cato,
oil on canvas, 120 x 184 cm, framed

Provenance:
Collection of Agapito Centurione (? –1668, Genoa);
and thence by descent to his son Cristoforo Centurione;
Private collection, Sestri Levante;
with Marco Riccomini, Milan;
Private collection, Milan;
where acquired by the present owner

Exhibited:
Vienna, 21er Haus - Museum of Contemporary Art, Sleepless. The bed in history and contemporary art, 30 January – 7 June 2015 (as Domenico Fiasella)

Literature:
A. Husslein-Arco, M. Codognato (eds.), Schlaflos. Das Bett in der Geschichte und Gegenwartskunst, exhibition catalogue, Vienna 2015, p. 208, illustrated (as Domenico Fiasella);
A.Orlando, Artemisia a Genova (e il ruolo di Domenico Fiasella tra Roma e Genova), in: F. Baldassari et al. (eds.), Artemisia Gentileschi e il suo tempo, exhibition catalogue, Milan 2016, p. 49, illustrated (as Domenico FIasella).

In around 1600, Domenico Fiasella moved to Genoa from his native Sarzana, where he first joined the workshop of Aurelio Lomi and then Giovan Battista Paggi. A few years later, he left for Rome, where he remained until 1615 and completed his training, absorbing the influence of artists, including the Carracci, Guido Reni and Domenichino, as well as Caravaggio and especially Orazio and Artemisia Gentileschi. In 1617 he returned to Genoa, where he established himself as one of the most successful painters of his time.

The frescoes representing the Stories of Esther in the Doge’s Palace at the Zecca are an example of Fiasella’s work dated to 1620, and the present painting The Death of Cato can also be dated to the same period. In the present painting the influence of the Gentileschi is particularly evident and can be seen in the naturalism of the depiction of Roman politician, as well as in the chromatic scheme, heightened by a refinement, a rapid and serene narrative, as well as a calm luminosity, which Fiasella created with a Genoese brushstroke, different in that way from the idealising perfection of Gentileschi.

Other comparable works by Fiasella belonging to the same period are Fainting Nicandro from the Cattaneo Adorno collection in Genoa and the Capture of Samson auctioned in Rome (Christie’s, 15 June 2005, lot 702). This painting shares with The Death of Cato an intense naturalism and a refined elegance in the depiction of garments and drapery, while in The Martyrdom of Santa Barbara in the church of Saint Mark in Molo, dated 1622, the figure of the executioner closely resembles that of Cato in the present work.

In an inventory, dated to 1669, of the items that Cristoforo Centurione inherited from his father Agapito, there are six paintings listed including “un quadro del Sarzana del Sacrificio di Abram; altro dello stesso Catone svenato, altro dello stesso Ercole in fascie, altro dell’istesso” (“a painting by Sarzana with Abraham sacrifice, another one by the same with the Death of Cato, another by the same with Hercules’ childhood, another by the same with the Philosopher Dyonisius”). The four paintings, even if subjects were taken from different sources, were evidently part of a cycle, chosen for their dramatic subjects. There is little information about the art collection of the Centurione family, however they were amongst the richest families in 17th century Genoa.