183
Giovanni Bernardino Azzolino (Cefalù, 1572 - Napoli, 1645)
Madonna with Child and St. John, XVI century
Oil on slate
144 x148 cm
Maira families of Palermo. Present Experties by Prof. Strinati Claudio:
“The remarkable painting depicting the Madonna and Child with the Infant Saint John (oil on
slate, cm. 144x148) is a beautiful example of that painting on stone that spread
very much in every part of Italy between the end of the sixteenth century and the first quarter of the
seventeenth century. The state of conservation of the work is good but a certain darkening of the
surface (also due to the nature of the support) which, in any case, a good restoration
can safely remedy as the pictorial film substantially healthy), does not
prevent a correct reading of the work.
This is of Tuscan inspiration, so much so that in the features of the Madonna it takes up
prototypes broadly definable as Raphaelesque because they were inspired by paintings of the late
activity of Raffaello Sanzio, paintings that during the sixteenth century achieved universal
fame.
But if the style is certainly Tuscan-inspired, the work in question can instead
certainly be classified in the great southern school of the very early seventeenth century which
saw famous painters active even if today less frequented by the studios. Among these stand out
some protagonists of painting broadly definable as Neapolitan. These are
masters who draw their cues from the Tuscan and Florentine in particular
environment, much appreciated throughout Italy (in this regard see the recent catalogue</div >
Timeless wonder. Painting on stone in Rome between the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, Galleria
Borghese, Officina Libraria 2022-2023, curated by Francesca Cappelletti and Patrizia
Cavazzini, very comprehensive on the subject) and in the kingdom of Naples in particular.
Among these painters, one in particular is to be considered as the author of our painting, and
it is Giovanni Bernardino Azzolino (Cefalù 1572-Naples 1645) author in reality
very famous in his time and less known today. Refined classicist, very fine
drawer and colourist, gentle and tender in his expressions, Azzolino had an
important career which took place in various centers of southern Italy and still continues there</div >
preserve excellent works by him.
The picture in question here certainly belongs to him and must have been executed towards the end
of the 1620s as attested by the comparison with some of his works
certainly dated, such as those executed, precisely at the end of the twenties, for the
Pio Monte della Misericordia in Naples, distinguished by his solid style,</div >
masterfully chiaroscuro and classical, in a completely similar way to what
can be seen in our painting, examined here."
€ 12.000,00
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