Caravaggio Painter, Northern Italy, 17th Century. Christ Presented To Caiaphas

Oil on canvas and original frame. Presented in a superb period carved wooden frame decorated with foliage motifs. Total dimensions: 128 x 148 cm. Canvas alone: 100 x 120 cm. The subject of our painting is one of the episodes of the Passion of Christ where he is presented to Caiaphas. It is a powerful and emotional painting. The high priest of the Temple of Jerusalem is called Joseph, called Caiaphas. He was appointed in 18 by the Roman prefect of Judea, Valerius Gratus, and it is before him that Jesus will be led after his arrest. - The sober layout places this beautiful and large composition in a tight frame, the painter renders with a strong dramatic intensity, and a deep seriousness the expressions of the quasi-naturalistic faces of the six characters who for some and notably Caiaphas fix us with a determined look. Only the overwhelmed Christ, has his head bowed and is just covered with a purple cape, his bound hands hold a reed (allusion to a scepter, that of the King of the Jews). A zenithal light, almost supernatural, comes to illuminate him and lick certain faces of his executioners. From a stylistic point of view, the work is distinguished by this very particular way of gradually making the bodies emerge from the shadow from the background to the foreground. Our research allows us to orient ourselves towards a Venetian artist with a Caravaggio influence and of course by the greatest artists like Titian and Tintoretto. We are thinking of Pietro della Vecchia (Vicenza, 1603 - Venice, September 8, 1678), Venetian painter of the Baroque period and representative of the Venetian school. His work experiments with many genres; large altar paintings, portraits of famous people, and also genre scenes and caricatures. He also created pastiches of works by the main Italian painters of the 16th century. Della Vecchia was sought after as an art dealer and expert and was also consulted to appraise works of art. He worked most of his life in Venice, except for a brief stay in Rome. Very good condition. A certificate of expertise will be given to the buyer.