Paolo de Matteis (1662 – 1728), Workshop of - Madonna col Bambino

Scuola di PAOLO DE MATTEIS
(Piano Vetrale, 1662 – Napoli, 1728)
Madonna with Child
Oil on canvas, cm. 78.5 x 64
Frame size cm. 102 x 87 x 8 approx.

NOTE: Publication catalog of the Intermidiart collection works (pdf). Unattributed work. Certificate of Guarantee and Legitimate Provenance. Work with black and gold lacquered frame (defects):

The work, already attributed by the market to the school of Sebastiano Conca (Gaeta, 1680 – Naples, 1764), examines one of the most celebrated and intimate iconographies of late-Baroque Marian devotion: the Virgin Mary half-length holding the Baby Jesus, who gently cradles and falls asleep with his head resting on the Mother’s chest.
From a stylistic point of view, the canvas fully belongs to the Neapolitan school of the early eighteenth century, showing a close dependence on the formal and compositional models of Paolo de Matteis. The graceful bearing of the figures, the characteristic softly idealized profile of the Madonna — with half-closed eyes and cheeks blushing with a soft complexion — and the rendering of the Child directly recall the stylistic signature of the Cilento master, who managed to fuse the grandeur of Luca Giordano’s school with the classicism of Roman origin (Maratta).
The anonymous author demonstrates having assimilated the peculiar modulation of area lights that de Matteis’s works feature: the darkness of the background enhances the plastic volumetry of the bodies through a soft, shaded chiaroscuro, which gracefully models the silky drapery of the Virgin’s blue mantle and the ochre-gold veil that encircles her head. The emotional intimacy and the fluid painterly handling, careful to restitute devotional affections with sober yet theatrical elegance, suggest the paternity of a workshop or a skilled follower active in Naples (such as a young Antonio Sarnelli, known for perpetuating such compositions during the century), operating within the tributary line of fortunate graphic and pictorial prototypes licensed by de Matteis between the first and second decades of the eighteenth century.
A similar replica to ours was recently auctioned in Naples and attributed to the Sarnelli catalog by art historian Prof. Stefano Causa.
Antonio Sarnelli (Naples, 1712 – 1800) was a prominent figure of late-Baroque Neapolitan painting of the eighteenth century. Member of an active artistic dynasty that included brothers Gennaro and Giovanni, he began his training as a favored pupil in Paolo de Matteis’s workshop. From the latter he absorbed the elegant drawing, formal composure, and expressive sweetness of the figures, elements that Sarnelli later reworked also looking to the classicism of Francesco De Mura and the great Luca Giordano tradition.
Actively independent since 1731, he established himself as a prolific and valued interpreter of devotional and Marian painting. Thanks to a communicative, solid, and graceful style, he earned wide acclaim from ecclesiastical patrons, leaving a rich series of altarpieces and decorative cycles widely diffused in Naples, Campania, and various provinces of the Kingdom (in particular Calabria and Apulia).
The painting is embellished with a beautiful black-and-gold lacquered wooden frame (dimensions cm. 102 x 87 x 8 approx., with defects).
"The frame shown in the photos above was added to the artwork by the seller or a third party. The frame is provided 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 request order cancellation."

PROVENANCE: Private Sicilian Collection

PUBLICATION:
 UNPUBLISHED QUADRERIA, General Catalog of the Paintings of the Intermidiart Gallery collection by Andrea Maggio, 2026 (pdf).

The work will be shipped – due to its fragility – with a wooden crate and expanded polystyrene or trusted carrier. In case of sale outside the Italian territory, the buyer will have to wait for the export procedures to be completed.