Giovan Francesco de Rosa, detto Pacecco (1607–1656) - Adamo ed Eva

GIOVANNI FRANCESCO DE ROSA,
detto PACECCO DE ROSA
(Naples, 1607 – 1656)
Adam and Eve
Oil on canvas, 116 x 152 cm


NOTE: Publication of the catalog of works from the Intermidiart collection. Untitled work. Certificate of Guarantee and Lawful Provenance. Work without a frame:

We thank Prof. Stefano Causa for suggesting the attribution to Giovan Francesco de Rosa, called Pacecco (Naples, 1607 – 1656).

The work, unpublished and coming from an important southern collection, depicts an episode starring Adam and Eve: two biblical characters, regarded as the first man and the first woman born of creation in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The true story of Adam and Eve is told in the Bible, specifically in the Book of Genesis. In this book the days of Creation are described, when God wished to bring into existence the world we know and all that populates it. Over the course of five days He created the heavens, the earth, light, the stars, all the fish, birds and animals. On the sixth day He decided to create Humankind.
This painting dates to the maturity of Pacecco De Rosa, in the 1640s or 1650s, and has been linked to the master’s catalog by the scholar Stefano Causa. According to the historian, the painting is an important, relatively mature work by this significant master of the latter quarter of the century, formed with Filippo Vitale and matured in contact with the works of Massimo Stanzione. Pacecco de Rosa, indeed, among the Stanziones, holds a prominent place for the luminosity of his compositions and the elegance of his brush. Noteworthy are the connections with the style of Cesare Fracanzano and Naples circles of Ribera.

The painting evokes an intimate, family moment, with Eve and Adam caring for their children in a protected setting. The choice of a palette of earth tones and neutral shades helps create a warm, enveloping atmosphere, underscoring the bond between the protagonists.
Light coming from the left highlights the faces, accentuating the sweetness of the expressions and the intensity of the feelings, characteristics that recall the style of a painter known for his ability to convey emotions through color and light. The scene, rich in symbolism and humanity, could represent an ideal of family and simple life, in which care and love are expressed in everyday gestures.
Let us speak of Pacecco De Rosa, born in 1607 and already able to begin working, with his stepfather Filippo Vitale, in the 1620s. He disappeared during the plague of 1656. Pacecco De Rosa is mostly known for his mature and late works for private commissions when he participated – if not as a protagonist then at least in a leading position – in that phase, still to be defined, of the Neapolitan scene that Stefano himself, a few years ago, described as the “Neapolitan purism.”
The canvas of medium size requires cleaning that restores its original chromatic splendor, in order to do justice to the beauty of the painting, following a glossy varnish deposited on the painting surface, which slightly enhances its primitive effect. Noted – under Wood light – are several restorations scattered. In sunlight, craquelure of the period is visible. The frame may have been replaced at the time of re-framing. The canvas measures 116 x 152 cm.
The painting is sold without a frame, although it is enhanced by a beautiful gilded wooden frame.

PROVENANCE: Private Collection

PUBLICATION:
- Unpublished;
- THE MYS AND THE TERRITORY in Sicily with a thousand cultures. UNPUBLISHED QUADRERIA, catalog of the collection of the cycle “The Myths and the Territory,” Editor Lab_04, Marsala, 2024.

The work will be shipped – as fragile – with a wooden crate and Styrofoam. In case of sale outside Italian territory, the buyer must allow time for export procedures.