Caravaggist Master of the XVII century.

Caravaggist Master, Italy 17th century.
"Orfeo".
Oil on canvas. Relined.
Measurements: 132 x 96 cm; 143 x 112 cm (frame).

This work clearly falls within the circle of influence of Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, and more specifically within the Roman Caravaggismo of the first decades of the seventeenth century. The composition, the dramatic use of light, the intensity of the chiaroscuro and the expressive theatricality of the figure allow us to establish a stylistic relationship close to the painting of Giovanni Baglione, especially to a work preserved and catalogued by the Fondazione Federico Zeri, with which this painting has remarkable similarities in its execution, iconography and treatment of the figure.
Although we cannot categorically establish a definitive authorship, the stylistic, technical and symbolic elements support a reasoned attribution to a master active in Baglione's environment or to an immediate follower within the post-Caravaggesque Roman context, where Caravaggio's influence was absorbed and transformed by various artists of Mannerist or academic training.

Iconographically speaking, Orpheus is the classical symbol of the evocative power of art and music. He is represented with a laurel wreath, violin and bow - substituting here the ancient lyre for a contemporary instrument - in a modern transposition of the myth. The figure, of great youthful idealization, embodies the type of the inspired ephebe, with an androgynous and serene beauty that refers both to the classical tradition and to the Renaissance ideal.
The anatomical treatment of the body, barely covered by a red cloak of powerful symbolic and compositional charge, as well as the use of a neutral and impenetrable background, highlight the author's interest in light as a dramatic and narrative force, in full harmony with the Caravaggist language.

The pictorial quality, the modeling of the face and body, the balanced composition and the psychological intensity of the scene make this work a valuable testimony of Caravaggio's legacy and its influence on 17th century Roman painting.