Pietro Novelli

PIETRO NOVELLI (Monreale, 1603 - Palermo, 1647).
‘Infant Jesus and Saint Christopher’.
Oil on canvas. Relined.
Size: 120 x 85 cm; 143 x 108 cm (frame).

Formally, this work belongs to the Italian school of the first half of the 17th century, more specifically to the circle of Pietro Novelli. Thus, we see in this work the tenderness, delicacy and subtlety that were Novelli's hallmarks, particularly evident in the delicate canvases, skilfully rendered, and in the pearly flesh tones, worked with a modelling based on the subtlety of the play of light and shade.
Pietro Novelli, of Italian origin, achieved great fame as a painter, although he also devoted himself to architecture and was appointed architect to the kingdom. His training was linked to his father's workshop, who was also a painter. His links with Palermo, a place to which he travelled frequently, indicate that he probably attended the school of Vito Carrera. Furthermore, the presence of Van Dyck and the stylistic influence of the master that can be seen in Novelli's painting reinforces the idea that he trained in Palermo.

A devotional work in which the artist depicts Saint Christopher with the Child. Christopher is a saint whose legend goes back no further than the 11th century, originating from the development of his name, Christophorus, which in Greek means ‘the one who carries Christ’. Originally, this expression was understood in a spiritual sense, as one who carries Christ in his heart. Later it was taken in a material sense. According to the tradition popularised during the 13th century by the Golden Legend, the man who carried Christ on his shoulders could only be a giant. Proud of his strength, he only agreed to serve the most powerful king in the universe. He placed himself in the service of a monarch, but finding that the monarch was afraid of the devil, he left him to serve Satan. Disappointed again that the sight of a cross at a crossroads was enough to defeat the devil, he pledged himself to serve Christ, and to please him he devoted himself to helping travellers and pilgrims across a dangerous river. One evening he heard himself called by a child, who asked him to carry him on his shoulders; but his burden grew heavier and heavier. So much so that the giant reached the opposite bank with difficulty. Then the child made himself known as Christ. To prove it to him, he asked Christopher to plant his staff in the ground, which immediately became a palm tree laden with fruit.