Lot 109: Giacomo del Po (Rome 1652-1726 Naples)

The Virgin and Child with Saints Januarius, Lucy, Jerome, Dominic and other Saints interceding for Souls in Purgatory
oil on canvas, shaped top
86 5/8 x 60 in. (220.1 x 152.4 cm.)

Anonymous sale; Christie's, New York, 14 January 1993, lot 122.

PROPERTY OF A LADY OF TITLE (lot 109)

This altarpiece is datable on stylistic grounds to circa 1700-15. Del Po executed relatively few altarpieces and the unusual iconography of this work may provide a clue to its original provenance, possibly in the private chapel of a Neapolitan palazzo or confraternity. An interesting and eclectic group of Saints are shown appealing to the Virgin and Child to intercede for souls in Purgatory. Among the saints depicted are Dominic, Jerome, Ignatius Loyola as well as a number of Franciscans. At the upper left Saint Januarius, the patron saint of Naples, can be seen presenting the miraculous phials containing his blood to the Virgin, while in the upper right the Christ Child bestows a scapular on Saint Lucy, the patron saint of the Santa Lucia quarter of Naples.

During the first part of the 18th century, del Po was frequently employed by Don Marino Carafa, Duca di Maddaloni, and it is possible that the present work was among the pictures executed for the Carafa Palace near the church of S. Lucia a Mare, Naples. Another version of this composition by the artist, identical except for the addition of two putti holding a crown above the Madonna and Child, is in the collection of C. Lampronti, Rome. Furthermore, a preparatory drawing for the Lampronti picture exists in a private Roman collection (for both, see G. Sestieri in 'Scritti di Storia dell'arte in onore di Raffaello Causa', Alcuni contributi alla grafica napoletana tra sei e Settecento, 1988, pp. 313-4, figs. 4 and 5).

No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 17.5% will be added to the buyer's premium, which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis.