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Matteo Ghidoni Detto Matteo de' Pitocchi (Firenze, 1626 - Padova, 1689)
Christ before Caiaphas
Oil painting on canvas
28x38. in frame 49x57 cm
Accompanied by an appraisal by Prof. Strinati who evaluates the work at an equal value at €15,000
“The work to my attention is to be considered of remote Rembrandtian derivation. Specifically, following archival checks on the stylistic and iconographic evidence I can confirm the autograph of Maestro Matteo Ghidoni known as Matteo dei Pitocchi (Padua ca. 1626- Padua 1689).
He was a highly celebrated painter in his time, a specialist in this particular genre of apparently popular painting but in fact aimed at the representation of the poor and the outcasts even in sacred subjects, as in our case, when the presence of a woman is foreseen in the representation teeming crowd that fills the space.
The painting in question here is a very notable testimony to the mature style of this very singular master, on the one hand delicate and sensitive in the religious spirit, on the another harsh and rude in the representation of individuals placed by fate on the margins of society.
This is a theme that he developed over the years, in parallel with his activity as an official sacred painter, which brought great fame. Probably in contact with the eminent Dutch painter Eberhard Keil known in Italy as Monsù Bernando, a remote follower of Rembrandt, Matteo dei Pitocchi developed his lesson, especially during the 1670s when the Master had close relationships with the Servi di Maria of Church of the Nativity in Padua.
The work in question here was probably born at that time, and can therefore be dated to the full maturity of the Paduan painter. I would add that the work appears to me to be in a good state of conservation, a fact which gives it further merit considering the historical period of reference."