Lot 179: Giuseppe Vermiglio , Alessandria 1585 - circa 1635 Saint Andrew; An Apostle; Saint Simeon; Saint John the Evangelist a set of four, all oil on canvas, unlined , in carved gilt wood frames

the first inscribed along the upper edge: SAND-REAS the third inscribed along the upper edge: S.SIM-ON a set of four, all oil on canvas, unlined , in carved gilt wood frames Quantity: 4

measurements note each: 53.3 by 44.5 cm.; 21 by 17 1/2 in.

Turin Dipinti Lombardi del Seicento. Collezione Koelliker, Turin 2004, pp. 72-77, cat. no. 30, 188;
Milan, Palazzo Reale, Maestri del '600 e del '700 Lombardo nella Collezione Koelliker, 1 April - 2 July 2006, pp. 62-67, cat. no. 17;
Ariccia, Palazzo Chigi, La "Schola" del Caravaggio. Dipinti dalla Collezione Koelliker, 13 October 2006 - 11 February 2007, pp. 202-205, cat. no 60.

A. Morandotti in F. Frangi, Dipinti Lombardi del Seicento. Collezione Koelliker, exhibition catalogue, Turin 2004, pp. 72-77, 188, cat. no. 30;
A. Morandotti in F. Frangi, Maestri del '600 e del '700 Lombardo nella Collezione Koelliker, exhibition catalogue, Milan 2006, pp. 62-67, cat. no. 17, reproduced in colour;
G. Papi, La "Schola" del Caravaggio. Dipinti dalla Collezione Koelliker, exhibition catalogue, Milan 2006, pp. 202-205, cat. no 60, reproduced in colour.

Acquired by the present owner in February 2003.

PROPERTY FROM THE LONDON RESIDENCE OF LUIGI KOELLIKER
Little is know of this north Italian Caravaggesque artist. He is first recorded in Rome in the beginning of the seventeenth century where he trained as a painter, probably in the workshop of Adriano di Monteleone. During these years his existence seems to echo that of Caravaggio himself, being arrested for carrying unlicensed weapons in 1606 and for taking part in a violent brawl in 1611. The dark luminosity of his early Roman works show a close adherence to the style of Caravaggio (see The Incredulity of St Thomas, St Tommaso ai Cencai, 1612) and it is only with his departure from Rome that Vermiglio began to develop the softer less dramatic style of the present paintings. It is thought that he returned to Milan circa 1620 to settle down, marrying in 1621 and thereafter working almost exclusively with Lateran and Carthusian patrons to produce devotional images which were expressive but devoid of his earlier drama. The present apostle series is typical of this shift in style. Other comparable series from his post Roman period include the Four Evangelists in the chapel of the Ospedale Vizzolo Predabissi Melegnano, near Lodi, and the unpublished cycle of apostles in the refractory in the convent of Corpus Domini in Milan.υ1 The former are large Guercinesque paintings of 150 by 120 cm. depicting the seated evangelists writing, and they share some strong similarities to the present series; for example in the head of St John the Evangelist which is tilted to the same angle and wears the same expression. Whilst it has not been possible to see images of the second series of apostles these have been described as half figures, suggesting they form an intermediary stage between the full figures of the Ospedale series and the head studies in the present series. It is possible to identify two of the saints depicted by the inscriptions in the background of the painting; those of Saint Simon and Saint Andrew. Alessandro Morandotti identified the third as Saint John the Evangelist due to his youthful countenance and the fourth has so far eluded identification.υ2 1. J. Stoppa, 'Giuseppe Vermiglio. Campione d'Italia' in The Burlington Magazine, Vol. 142, No. 1173, December 2000, p. 798.
2. A. Morandotti, Dipinti Lombardi del Seicento. Collezione Koelliker, Turin 2004, p. 72