Lot 95: Bartolomeo Guidobono (Savona 1654-1709 Torino)

Christ in the House of Simon the Pharisee
oil on canvas
33 x 23 7/8 in. (83.8 x 60.7 cm.)

Edward Hutton Esq.

We are grateful to Dr. Mary Newcome Schleier for confirming the attribution on the basis of photographs.

After an apprenticeship with his father, a maiolica painter, Bartolomeo Guidobono and his brother Domenico specialised in fresco painting, active mainly in Savona. Bartolomeo later travelled to Parma, Venice and possibly Bologna, where he assimilated new artistic influences. His growing reputation led to commissions in both Genoa and Turin, where he was active until his death.

In Parma he would have had the opportunity to study the work of Parmigianino and Correggio, from whom he acquired his elegant tonality and soft modelling as well as the graceful facial types. These characteristics are evident in the present picture. Here the artist skilfully depicts a dark interior, whose shadows are sharply contrasted with bright flashes of colour and localised highlights. In this regard, one could also note how indebted Guidobono was to the art of both Valerio Castello and Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione (see also M. Newcome Schleier, Bartolomeo e Domenico Guidobono, Turin, 2002).

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