Francesco De Mura (1969 - 1784), Workshop of - Martirio di Santo Stefano

School of FRANCESCO DE MURA
(Naples, 1969 - 1784)
Martyrdom of Saint Stephen
Oil on canvas, cm. 102.5 x 69
Frame size cm. 106 x 73 x 4 approx.

NOTE: Florence, Pandolfini, 12 October 2022, lot 91 (as Neapolitan School, 17th century); Publication of catalog of works from the Intermidiart collection. Certification of Legitimate Provenance. Work with a thin wooden frame (flaws):

The work presents itself in a decent state of conservation. The painterly film reveals the presence of a conspicuous centinal-shaped gap in the upper portion of the composition, historically filled by a neutral preparatory layer or subjected to an ancient intervention of structural adaptation to a false arch. Widespread craquelure due to aging and traces of oxidized varnish are evident, which dampen the original brilliance of the chiaroscuro palette, while the plastic and formal values of the drawing fabric remain perfectly legible.

The painting depicts the dramatic moment of the stoning of Saint Stephen, the Christian protomartyr, faithfully aligned with the Acts of the Apostles. The core of the depiction unfolds in a tight dynamic tension: at the center, the saint lies on the ground, dressed in the traditional dalmatic with iridescent tones. With arms outstretched and ecstic gaze turned upward, he accepts martyrdom in a posture of total submission and faith that echoes the models of the great Baroque tradition.

Around the martyr’s figure are arranged his executioners, whose robust, muscular, and partially nude bodies are captured in the moment of maximum physical effort: one, on the right, raises with both hands a heavy stone block, while the central figure seizes the saint’s face to stabilize his posture before the final blow. On the left, in the foreground, stand male figures in Oriental attire and turbans, a clear iconographic quotation of the priests of the Sanhedrin and the elders of the people. In the celestial section, though partially cut by the neutral insert, the clouds are visible, cracked, with cherubs peeking through and a hint of a radiant divine presence, symbol of the eternal glory ready to welcome the martyr's soul.

The stylistic characteristics of the work decisively point to an attribution to a master operating within the circle or close circle of Francesco De Mura during the mid-18th century. The painting’s pictorial language fully absorbs that transition from Solimenian modes — monumental, dense and strongly chiaroscuro — toward a softer, smoother, and more elegant rendering typical of De Mura’s mature period.

The compositional development, played along diagonals and the contrast between the vigorous, almost theatrical, physical expressiveness of the executioners and the graceful classicism that pervades the saint’s body, finds precise correspondence with the devotional and altar production of the Murano workshop. The flesh tones of the right-hand executioner, defined by warm shading and clear but blended chiaroscuro, closely evoke the formal solutions employed in Naples’ major sacred commissions of the master. The painting technique, although in some passages reveals the hand of a workshop collaborator or a skilled direct follower in some less refined drawing passages, preserves a very high level of inventive imagination and a scenographic approach of evident Neapolitan matrix, confirming the work’s importance as a document of the widespread diffusion of Francesco De Mura’s models in mid-18th-century central-southern painting.

The work is documented on the Florentine antiquarian market, having been presented at Pandolfini, Florence, on 12 October 2022, lot 91, where it was cataloged as “Neapolitan School, 17th century.” Subsequently, based on a re-examination of stylistic, compositional, and pictorial characteristics, the work received a different attribution proposal, linked to Francesco De Mura’s school. This subsequent critical reading is consistent with the painting’s figurative language, attributable to the Neapolitan milieu of the mid-18th century and, more specifically, to the Murano circle, within which the work appears as a significant testimony to the diffusion and reworking of the master’s models.

The work’s conservation status is discreet, though marked by a major historical restoration and natural time-related alterations:
• The centinata gap: The most evident element is the large geometric semicircular loss in the upper part. The original canvas has been removed (probably in the past to adapt the painting to a niche or shaped frame) and the gap has been filled with a neutral ground layer.
• Support and surface: The painting underwent an ancient re-stretching intervention to consolidate the original canvas. On the surface a widespread craquelure (craquelure) due to aging is visible, physiological and structurally stable, with no risk of color detachment.
• Varnish and color: The superficial protective layer appears oxidized and yellowed. This alteration dulls the original brightness of the 18th-century palette, but the painterly film remains overall healthy and legible.

The canvas measures 102.5 x 69 cm. The painting has a thin wooden frame (frame measurements 106 x 73 x 4 approx., flaws). "The frame shown in the photos above has been added to the artwork by the seller or a third party. The frame is provided to you 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 a valid reason to open a claim or to cancel the order."

PROVENANCE:
Florence, Pandolfini, 12 October 2022, lot 91 (as Scuola Napoletana, 17th century);
Private Collection

PUBLICATION:
UNPUBLISHED QUADRERIA, General catalog of the paintings from the Intermidiart Gallery collection by Andrea Maggio, 2026 (pdf).

In case of sale outside Italian territory, the buyer must await the processing times for export paperwork.