Lot 41: DOMENICO PIOLA

DOMENICO PIOLA GENOA 1627 - 1703 THE MYSTIC MARRIAGE OF ST. CATHERINE Pen and brown ink and wash over red chalk; bears extensive inscription (partly cut) in brown ink, verso 212 by 169 mm

A very finished study with abundant use of wash, this does not seem to be connected with any surviving paintings by Domenico Piola. Mary Newcome Schleier suggests that the high degree of finish implies that it might have been preparatory for a print. Domenico Piola spent his life mostly in Genoa, except for a working trip to Milan, Piacenza, Bologna and Asti in 1684-5. He and Gregorio de Ferrari, his son-in-law, were the leading artists in Genoa in the second half of the 17th century, and their drawings and paintings had a far-reaching influence on the next generation of Genoese painters.