Rome, two important paintings by Battistello Caracciolo and Luca Giordano restored. Now on display at the Corsini Gallery

The restoration of Battistello Caracciolo ’s Sant’Onofrio (Naples 1578 - 1635) and Luca Giordano ’s Il tributo della moneta (Naples 1634 - 1705), important paintings in the collection of the Gallerie Nazionali di Arte Antica in Rome, has been completed and now, from July 18 to October 27, 2024, they will be exceptionally exhibited at the Corsini Gallery venue.

The two restorations were carried out by the Laboratorio delle Gallerie Nazionali di Arte Antica thanks to the proceeds raised from the sale of Vino Civitas, which once again renewed the commitment of the Civita Association, in partnership with Tenuta Caparzo of Montalcino, in supporting the restoration of particularly significant works in the museum, following the agreement signed since 2019 and running until 2025. Part of the proceeds from last years’ Vino Civitas sales have already made it possible to restore Bartolomé Esteban Murillo’s Madonna of the Milk and to start work on an 18th-century console in the Corsini Gallery, while new work on Guercino’s Lucrezia di Scuola has already begun and will be completed in 2025.

The Sant’Onofrio was made between 1615 and 1618 by Battistello Caracciolo, among the earliest followers of Caravaggio during his stay in Naples and one of the most talented artists among those who tried their hand at the new techniques brought by Merisi. In this work Caracciolo has staged the effects of theextreme asceticism of the saint, who took refuge in the desert for more than sixty years after repudiating his royal origins. The scene is made all the more stark by the dark background and the “Caravaggesque” light coming from the right rear, which highlights Onofrio’s physical fatigue as he leans on his staff and his emaciated and tried figure, covered only by leaves and characterized by his long beard and white hair. The recently completed restoration, directed by Yuri Primarosa and carried out by Laura De Vincenzo and Vega Santodonato, now makes it possible to fully read the painting and its color values, as well as confirming the centrality of the drawing in Battistello’s technique that emerged from the diagnostic investigations. The discovery of a continuous mark on all four sides about 10 cm from the edge of the canvas (incompatible with the beating of the frame of a “room painting”) has also made it possible to substantiate the hypothesis of the painting’s ancient provenance from a church, perhaps as a side altarpiece.

Luca Giordano’sTribute of the Coin, from the Corsini collection, has been in external storage at the Senate since 1940 and was first exhibited to the public at the Gallery on the occasion of the exhibition dedicated to Cardinal Neri Maria Corsini in December 2022. Now it returns to the Cardinal’s apartments, relocated exactly to the position recorded in the 1750 inventory, after a more than year-long restoration directed by Alessandro Cosma and executed by Pilar Grazioli. The work created by Luca Giordano around 1655-1660 was donated to Pope Clement XII Corsini (1730-1740) by Cardinal Alessandro Aldobrandini, perhaps as a thank you for the cardinal’s appointment he received in 1730. The importance of the painting and its author, highly appreciated by the Corsini family, led Cardinal Neri Maria to choose it for the gallery of masterpieces in his apartment, the so-called Cardinal’s Gallery. The painting depicts the theme of the Tribute of the Coin and, in particular, the moment when Peter finds in the belly of a fish the money needed to pay the temple tax for him and Christ (Mt. 17:24-27).

The restoration work allows us to appreciate the rich colors conceived by the painter, such as the white of Christ’s robe or the blue of the mantle, made with the use of lapis lazuli and enamel, now unfortunately irreversibly altered to gray. He also brought out the three figures of apostles on the right and, above all, previously invisible details such as the landscape background and the boat with the sail and the fisherman on the left, a reference to the setting of the episode, but also a reminder of Peter’s role as “fisherman.”

Rome, two important paintings by Battistello Caracciolo and Luca Giordano restored. Now on display at the Corsini Gallery

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