Enchère Bidspirit | Giovanni Bernardino Azzolino (Cefalù, 15712

Giovanni Bernardino Azzolino (Cefalù, 15712 - Napoli, 1645) - Madonna with Child and St. John, XVI century. Oil on slate 144 x148 cm Maira families of Palermo. Present Experties by Prof. Strinati Claudio: “The remarkable painting depicting the Madonna and Child with the Infant Saint John (oil on slate, cm. 144x148) is a beautiful example of that painting on stone that spread very much in every part of Italy between the end of the sixteenth century and the first quarter of the seventeenth 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, in any case, a good restoration can safely remedy as the pictorial film substantially healthy), does not prevent a correct reading of the work. This is of Tuscan inspiration, so much so that in the features of the Madonna it takes up prototypes broadly definable as Raphaelesque because they were inspired by paintings of the late activity of Raffaello Sanzio, paintings that during the sixteenth century achieved universal fame. But if the style is certainly Tuscan-inspired, the work in question can instead certainly be classified in the great southern school of the very early seventeenth century which saw famous painters active even if today less frequented by the studios. Among these stand out some protagonists of painting broadly definable as Neapolitan. These are masters who draw their cues from the Tuscan and Florentine in particular environment, much appreciated throughout Italy (in this regard see the recent catalogue Timeless wonder. Painting on stone in Rome between the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, Galleria Borghese, Officina Libraria 2022-2023, curated by Francesca Cappelletti and Patrizia Cavazzini, very comprehensive on the subject) and in the kingdom of Naples in particular. Among these painters, one in particular is to be considered as the author of our painting, and it is Giovanni Bernardino Azzolino (Cefalù 1572-Naples 1645) author in reality very famous in his time and less known today. Refined classicist, very fine drawer and colourist, gentle and tender in his expressions, Azzolino had an important career which took place in various centers of southern Italy and still continues there preserve excellent works by him. The picture in question here certainly belongs to him and must have been executed towards the end of the 1620s as attested by the comparison with some of his works certainly dated, such as those executed, precisely at the end of the twenties, for the Pio Monte della Misericordia in Naples, distinguished by his solid style, masterfully chiaroscuro and classical, in a completely similar way to what can be seen in our painting, examined here.”