Giovanni Bernardino Azzolino

(Cefalù, 1572 - Napoli, 1645)

Maira families of Palermo. Present Experties of Professor Strinati Claudio:

“The remarkable painting depicting the Madonna with Child and Saint John (oil on  ardesia, 144x148 cm) is a beautiful example of that painting on stone that became widespread very much in every part of Italy between the end of the sixteenth century and the first quarter of the Sixteenth 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 however a good restoration can provide a safe remedy as the pictorial film is substantially healthy), not prevents a correct reading of the work.

This is of Tuscan inspiration, so much so that in the features of the Madonna it recalls < span style="background-color: hsl(var(--bs-white)); color: var(--bs-card-color); font-size: var(--bs-body-font-size); text-align: var(--bs-body-text-align);">prototypes that can be broadly defined as Raphaelesque because they were inspired by late paintingsactivities of Raffaello Sanzio, paintings that achieved fame during the sixteenth centuryuniversal.

But if the style is certainly of Tuscan inspiration, the work in question here is instead  ;certainly fit into the great southern school of the very early seventeenth century which he saw illustrious painters active even if they are less frequented by studies today. Among these,some protagonists of painting that can be broadly defined as Neapolitan. They are masters who draw their inspiration from the Tuscan and Florentine environment in particular, much appreciated throughout Italy (in this regard, see the recent catalog Timeless wonder. Stone painting in Rome between the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, Gallery Borghese, Officina Libraria 2022-2023, edited by Francesca Cappelletti and Patrizia Cavazzini, very comprehensive on the topic) and in kingdom of Naples in particular.Among these painters, one in particular is to be considered the author of our painting, and this is Giovanni Bernardino Azzolino (Cefalù 1572-Naples 1645) actually the authorvery celebrated in his time and less well known today. Refined classicist, very fine artist and colorist, polite and tender in his expressions, Azzolino had a important career that took place in various centers in southern Italy and is still thereexcellent works by him are preserved.

The painting in question here certainly belongs to him and must have been painted around the end of the 1620s as attested by the comparison with some of his works certainly dated, like those executed, precisely at the end of the twenties, for Pio Monte della Misericordia in Naples, characterized by its solid style, masterfully chiaroscuro and classicizing, in a very similar way to what can be seen in our painting, under consideration here.”