Francesco de Solimena's workshop, late 17th century

Workshop of FRANCESCO SOLIMENA (Italy, 1657-1747)
"The Dream of St. Joseph"
Oil on canvas.
Relined.
Frame of the nineteenth century, following models of the seventeenth century.
Measurements: 65 x 50 cm; 89 x 78 x 7 cm (frame).

Scene of devotional character that represents the episode of the dream of Saint Joseph, theme of wide diffusion in the Italian baroque painting and especially in the Neapolitan environment. The composition shows the moment in which the angel appears to the saint to transmit the divine message, accompanied by a court of cherubs, while the Virgin appears in a recollected attitude.

The work is inscribed in the orbit of the workshop of Francesco de Solimena, the main figure of the Neapolitan school. In it we can recognize characteristic features of his language, such as the use of a focal illumination that emerges from the half-light, the dynamism and theatricality of the scene, all articulated by means of an intense chiaroscuro of tenebrist roots.

The composition is organized in a marked ascending diagonal that leads the eye from the foreground, where St. Joseph appears asleep, to the upper area, where the heavenly apparition takes place. The brushstroke, precise in faces and hands, becomes looser in the draperies, generating an enveloping atmosphere. The palette, dominated by warm tones, is enriched with accents of blue that reinforce the dramatic effect.

Francesco Solimena, active in Naples since 1674, assimilated influences from the Roman Baroque and masters such as Lanfranco and Giordano, later developing his own language of great plastic solidity. His work is preserved in important international museums such as the Prado Museum, the Hermitage, the Louvre, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the National Gallery in London and the Rijksmuseum, among others.

Overall, it is a representative painting of the Neapolitan Baroque, of remarkable expressive power and decorative appeal, which effectively reflects the spirituality and the scenographic character of this artistic context.