Francesco Solimena (1657-1747) - Pubbl. N. Spinosa - San Simeone - XL format

FRANCESCO SOLIMENA
(Canale di Serino, 1657 - Naples, 1747)
Saint Simeon, 1690-70 approx.
Oil on canvas, cm. 97 x 77
Frame size, cm. 114 x 95 x 6 approx.

NOTE: Publication catalog of the works of the Intermidiart collection (Pdf). Certificate of Guarantee and Legitimate Provenance. Work published in the monograph of Francesco Solimena (1657-1747) and the Arts in Naples, edited by N. Spinosa, Rome 2018, p. 286. Work with gilded frame (defects):

This splendid painting depicts Saint Simeon holding the Child Jesus in his arms, an autograph work by the famous master of Neapolitan Baroque Francesco Solimena (1657-1747).
Re-emerged thanks to the research converging in the scientific monograph of 2018 curated by Nicola Spinosa, the painting constitutes a piece of particular importance for reconstructing the artist’s path toward full maturity of the Baroque. (Nicola Spinosa, Francesco Solimena (1657-1747) e le Arti a Napoli, Ugo Bozzi Editore, Rome, 2018, p. 286).
The following is the entry prepared for the aforementioned monograph of 2018:
«… Unpublished, it stands in stylistic quality near the two paintings with The Robe of Joseph and with Abraham driving away Hagar and Ishmael, and the other fresco and canvas paintings that Solimena produced after the intervention in the sacristy of San Paolo Maggiore, in a phase of incipient and then growing approach to the “doer of tenebrosity”, Baroque and monumental in Naples. A dating of the canvas in question can be fixed to the mid-1990s of the seventeenth century […]».
The Saint Simeon thus belongs to a crucial phase of Solimena’s career, marked by the progressive and vigorous approach to Mattia Preti’s “doer of tenebrosity,” characterized by a language deeply Baroque, monumental, and dramatically founded on the contrast between light and shadow.
The elderly priest Simeon is captured in a moment of ecstasy: the face, turned upward, shows deep spiritual participation, while the arms gently and firmly support the naked and luminous body of the Child Jesus. On the priest’s forehead stands the sacerdotal tiara, adorned with a gold galloon bearing a pseudo-Hebraic inscription alluding to the divine name or to the dignity of the Temple.
The ample, heavy draperies, plastically modeled and emerging from the strong chiaroscuro contrast, heighten the scene’s solemnity and its intense theatricality, elements proper to Neapolitan painting of the late 17th century.
In the painting one perceives Solimena’s gradual surpassing of his early, brighter, more scenographic manner, linked to the Giordanesque tradition, in favor of a harsher and more dramatic language. The artist here establishes a close confrontation with the energetic and tenebrous naturalism of Mattia Preti. The light does not spread evenly across the composition but breaks in laterally like a true saber of light, cutting into the background’s darkness and isolating the monumental figure of the priest. From the darkness emerges thus, with particular clarity, the vibrant and luminous body of the Child.
A genuine Solimenesque stylistic signature is particularly recognizable in the handling of anatomy and hands. The knotted, vigorous, and strongly characterized fingers of the elderly priest, which support the little Christ with surprising delicacy, create an intense contrast between the physical strength of old age and the fragility of the newborn, in a fully Baroque sensibility.
Also noteworthy is the rendering of the silvered beard, built up through rapid, material and vibrant brushstrokes, capable of immediately conveying the texture of the hairs and, at the same time, the monumental dignity of the subject. It is precisely these details, together with the quality of the painting technique, that reveal the very high execution level of the work and distinguish the master’s hand from that of his vast workshop.
The painting thus stands as a significant testimony to the stylistic transformation of Francesco Solimena in the mid-1990s of the seventeenth century, when his painting, while preserving the brilliant energy of the Giordanesque tradition, increasingly oriented toward a severe monumentalism, dramatic light, and an intensely emotional naturalism.

FACILITY REPORT:
The painting, Saint Simeon by Francesco Solimena presented here, is in good conservation condition:

VISUAL STATE ANALYSIS
Painting surface:
The oil layer appears intact, solid and free of obvious losses or color flaking.

Legibility of chiaroscuro:
The strong contrasts and shadow transitions — typical of Neapolitan Baroque — retain notable freshness. The details of the grey beard, the folds of the drapery, and the Hebrew characters on the forehead are perfectly sharp and well preserved.

Support:
The canvas maintains good structural tension within its gilded frame.

The measurements of the work are cm. 97 x 77. The painting is enriched with a beautiful gilded frame (dimensions cm. 114 x 95 x 6 approx., presence of defects). "The frame shown in the photos above has been added to the artwork by the seller or by a third party. The frame is supplied at no additional cost so that it is ready to display as soon as it arrives. The frame is included as a courtesy and is not considered an integral part of the artwork. Therefore, any potential damage to the frame that does not affect the artwork itself will not be accepted as valid grounds for opening a claim or requesting order cancellation."

PROVENANCE: Private Sicilian collection

PUBLICATION:
 NICOLA SPINOSA, Francesco Solimena (1657-1747) e le Arti a Napoli, monograph, Ugo Bozzi Editore Srl, Rome 2018, p. 286.
 INEDITA QUADRERIA, General catalog of the paintings in the Intermidiart Gallery collection by Andrea Maggio, 2026 (pdf).

The work will be shipped – as fragile – with a wooden crate and Styrofoam or a trusted carrier. In the case of sale outside the Italian territory, the buyer must wait for the export procedures to be completed.