Pietro del Pò (Palermo, 1610 - Napoli, 1692)

Set within a gilded wooden frame featuring multiple tiers of carved detail.

An antique label on the reverse reads: Alexander Grant, Carver, Gilder & Picture-Frame Maker, 87 Bothwell Street, Glasgow.

Provenance:

Matthiesen Fine Art Limited, London, 1988 (as indicated by a label on the reverse);

Casa Santangelo Collection, Naples

The lot presented here is an example of the small-scale devotional oil paintings on copper that were highly popular in Italy during the 17th and 18th centuries.

Pietro del Po was best known for his engravings, which frequently depicted religious themes and figures. Many of these were subsequently reproduced on copper a medium well-suited to his skill as an engraver and his mastery of the soft, Emilian-style chiaroscuro characterized by a focus on dramatic composition, intricate detail, and the interplay of light and shadow.