The Adoration Of The Magi - Matteo Cristadoro (agrigento, C. 1635 – ?)
Italian School, Matteo Cristadoro (1657) – Oil on copper.
This painting, with its dual stylistic character, is the remarkable work of a little-documented Italian painter whom we have studied through nine articles in various publications and a research trip to Sicily aimed at enriching his biography and examining his other works. In doing so, we met with civil and religious authorities and traversed the Palermo region in search of new discoveries.
Although Italian, Cristadoro here employs a compositional scheme typical of Northern schools at the turn of the 16th and 17th centuries—a choice made in the 1650s, a time when Baroque art reigned supreme across Italy. Rather than staging a scene filled with pathos—in keeping with the prevailing taste for large, emotionally expressive figures—he chooses to depict a multitude of small figures spread across several planes; in the foreground, the Nativity unfolds with its procession of worshippers, among whom the painter has included a self-portrait, gazing directly at the viewer. To the right, the Holy Family is set apart near an antique-style ruin converted into a makeshift stable—a compositional device borrowed from Northern painters, most notably Albrecht Dürer. In the background, an entire city bustles with life, its inhabitants variously intrigued by or indifferent to the arrival of the Savior of humanity. While some crowd toward the stable on the right, most of these small figures are engaged in conversation, trade, or hunting. Despite their diminutive size, these figures clearly reflect an Italian style, characterized by a pursuit of beauty rather than strict naturalism. Finally, while most of the architecture adorning the composition is Italian or antique in style, the large building on the left is clearly inspired by the civic architecture of the Low Countries, featuring a stepped gable roof. This intermingling of Northern and Italian iconographies calls for great caution on the part of researchers. Why would a Sicilian artist compose like a Fleming? Art historian Vito Chiaramonte offers an answer in the collective volume *Mirabile Artificio, Pittura religiosa in Sicilia dal XV al XIX secolo*: "… This aspect of his visual culture suggests the hypothesis that Cristadoro may have trained under a Flemish master active in Sicily, such as Hyeronimus Gerards (1595–1648), or under a Sicilian who had trained with a Fleming."
Our *Adoration of the Magi* bears an unequivocal signature and date:
"SAC: D' MATTHEVS CHRISTADORO PINGEBAT/ANNO DOMINI 1657," followed by "P: D: PETRVS MARIA PIAGGIA A/ PAN/ F: F:," which can be transcribed as "The priest Don Matteo Cristadoro painted it in 1657 for Pietro Maria Piaggia in Palermo." Matteo Cristadoro was a priest—recorded as a canon at the Cathedral of Agrigento—which allowed him time to devote himself to painting. The patron, Pietro Maria Piaggia, a protégé of Cardinal Francesco Barberini, would go on to become the *abbé commendataire* (lay abbot) of the Abbey of San Martino delle Scale in 1670.
To date, only two other works by Cristadoro are recorded and preserved in Sicily: the first is a large altarpiece depicting *The Preaching of Saint Francis Xavier* (signed and dated 1650) in the Church of Sant'Agata in Caltanissetta; the second is an oil on copper—also signed and dated (1659)—depicting *God the Father Painting the Virgin*, located at the monastery of San Martino delle Scale.
We have chosen to present the work in a rare 17th-century carved and gilded Spanish or Southern Italian frame.
Dimensions: 64 x 102.5 cm (80 x 119 cm with the frame)
Provenance :
- Petrus Maria Piaggia (1597–1679), protégé of Cardinal Francesco Barberini, in 1657.
- Removed from Italy during the suppression of religious orders in 1866; entered a private Spanish collection.
- Formerly in the collection of Luis Maria Aznar, Senator for the province of Santander (1916–1923).
Our research has led to the publication of the first study on the paintings of Matteo Cristadoro; the volume is available in English, Italian, and French. Furthermore, in discussions with our Sicilian counterparts, we have explored plans for a future exhibition bringing together the three known works—first at the Monastery of San Martino and subsequently at the Palazzo Abatellis in Palermo (the Regional Museum of Fine Arts). These efforts aim to bring to light previously unknown works held in private collections, thereby expanding the known body of work of this talented Sicilian painter.
Bibliography :
- V. Chiaramonte, scheda III.4 , in M. Guttilla (a cura di), Mirabile Artificio, pittura religiosa in Sicilia dal XV al XIX secolo, Palermo, Edizione Kàlos, 2006.
- Archivio storico siciliano, pubblicazione periodica della società siciliana per la storia patria, nuova serie anno XXXII. Memorie originali di Giovanni Meli, medico. Palermo 1907.
- Dimemorie originali di Giovanni Meli, medico A. Lipari (a cura di), L’Abbazia di San Martino delle Scale. Storia, Arte, Ambiente, Atti del Convegno, Palermo 1990, p.45.
- G. Bongiovanni, scheda 45, in MC Di Natale F. Messina Cicchetti (a cura di), L’eredità di Angelo Sinisio. L’abbazia di San Martino delle Scale dal XIV al XX secolo, Luxograph Palermo 1997, pp.135.
- D. Malignaggi, scheda 25, in E. D’Amico ( a cura di) La pittura nel nisseno da XVI al XVIII secolo, catalogo della mostra (Caltanissetta, 29 aprile-28 giugno1998), Caltanissetta Palermo 2001, pp.164-165.
- G. Bellafiore, La civiltà artistica della Sicilia dalla preistoria ad oggi, edizione F. Le Monnier, 1963, pag 374; (data della morte)
- Caltanissetta nei tempi che furono e nei tempi che sono, Giovanni Mulè Bertòlo, edizione Forni, 1970, pag 34; (S. Francesco Saverio)
- Dizionariodegli artisti siciliani, Luigi Sarullo, editore Novecento, 1993; (data dinascita)
- C. Scarlata, Pittura-Scultura, arti minori. Dizionario degli artisti presenti a Caltanissetta e nei comuni della sua provincia, Ed. Lussografica Caltanissetta1999, p 53.
- La matricola di San Martino delle Scale (Archives du monastère), vie de Pierre Maria Piaggia.
This painting, with its dual stylistic character, is the remarkable work of a little-documented Italian painter whom we have studied through nine articles in various publications and a research trip to Sicily aimed at enriching his biography and examining his other works. In doing so, we met with civil and religious authorities and traversed the Palermo region in search of new discoveries.
Although Italian, Cristadoro here employs a compositional scheme typical of Northern schools at the turn of the 16th and 17th centuries—a choice made in the 1650s, a time when Baroque art reigned supreme across Italy. Rather than staging a scene filled with pathos—in keeping with the prevailing taste for large, emotionally expressive figures—he chooses to depict a multitude of small figures spread across several planes; in the foreground, the Nativity unfolds with its procession of worshippers, among whom the painter has included a self-portrait, gazing directly at the viewer. To the right, the Holy Family is set apart near an antique-style ruin converted into a makeshift stable—a compositional device borrowed from Northern painters, most notably Albrecht Dürer. In the background, an entire city bustles with life, its inhabitants variously intrigued by or indifferent to the arrival of the Savior of humanity. While some crowd toward the stable on the right, most of these small figures are engaged in conversation, trade, or hunting. Despite their diminutive size, these figures clearly reflect an Italian style, characterized by a pursuit of beauty rather than strict naturalism. Finally, while most of the architecture adorning the composition is Italian or antique in style, the large building on the left is clearly inspired by the civic architecture of the Low Countries, featuring a stepped gable roof. This intermingling of Northern and Italian iconographies calls for great caution on the part of researchers. Why would a Sicilian artist compose like a Fleming? Art historian Vito Chiaramonte offers an answer in the collective volume *Mirabile Artificio, Pittura religiosa in Sicilia dal XV al XIX secolo*: "… This aspect of his visual culture suggests the hypothesis that Cristadoro may have trained under a Flemish master active in Sicily, such as Hyeronimus Gerards (1595–1648), or under a Sicilian who had trained with a Fleming."
Our *Adoration of the Magi* bears an unequivocal signature and date:
"SAC: D' MATTHEVS CHRISTADORO PINGEBAT/ANNO DOMINI 1657," followed by "P: D: PETRVS MARIA PIAGGIA A/ PAN/ F: F:," which can be transcribed as "The priest Don Matteo Cristadoro painted it in 1657 for Pietro Maria Piaggia in Palermo." Matteo Cristadoro was a priest—recorded as a canon at the Cathedral of Agrigento—which allowed him time to devote himself to painting. The patron, Pietro Maria Piaggia, a protégé of Cardinal Francesco Barberini, would go on to become the *abbé commendataire* (lay abbot) of the Abbey of San Martino delle Scale in 1670.
To date, only two other works by Cristadoro are recorded and preserved in Sicily: the first is a large altarpiece depicting *The Preaching of Saint Francis Xavier* (signed and dated 1650) in the Church of Sant'Agata in Caltanissetta; the second is an oil on copper—also signed and dated (1659)—depicting *God the Father Painting the Virgin*, located at the monastery of San Martino delle Scale.
We have chosen to present the work in a rare 17th-century carved and gilded Spanish or Southern Italian frame.
Dimensions: 64 x 102.5 cm (80 x 119 cm with the frame)
Provenance :
- Petrus Maria Piaggia (1597–1679), protégé of Cardinal Francesco Barberini, in 1657.
- Removed from Italy during the suppression of religious orders in 1866; entered a private Spanish collection.
- Formerly in the collection of Luis Maria Aznar, Senator for the province of Santander (1916–1923).
Our research has led to the publication of the first study on the paintings of Matteo Cristadoro; the volume is available in English, Italian, and French. Furthermore, in discussions with our Sicilian counterparts, we have explored plans for a future exhibition bringing together the three known works—first at the Monastery of San Martino and subsequently at the Palazzo Abatellis in Palermo (the Regional Museum of Fine Arts). These efforts aim to bring to light previously unknown works held in private collections, thereby expanding the known body of work of this talented Sicilian painter.
Bibliography :
- V. Chiaramonte, scheda III.4 , in M. Guttilla (a cura di), Mirabile Artificio, pittura religiosa in Sicilia dal XV al XIX secolo, Palermo, Edizione Kàlos, 2006.
- Archivio storico siciliano, pubblicazione periodica della società siciliana per la storia patria, nuova serie anno XXXII. Memorie originali di Giovanni Meli, medico. Palermo 1907.
- Dimemorie originali di Giovanni Meli, medico A. Lipari (a cura di), L’Abbazia di San Martino delle Scale. Storia, Arte, Ambiente, Atti del Convegno, Palermo 1990, p.45.
- G. Bongiovanni, scheda 45, in MC Di Natale F. Messina Cicchetti (a cura di), L’eredità di Angelo Sinisio. L’abbazia di San Martino delle Scale dal XIV al XX secolo, Luxograph Palermo 1997, pp.135.
- D. Malignaggi, scheda 25, in E. D’Amico ( a cura di) La pittura nel nisseno da XVI al XVIII secolo, catalogo della mostra (Caltanissetta, 29 aprile-28 giugno1998), Caltanissetta Palermo 2001, pp.164-165.
- G. Bellafiore, La civiltà artistica della Sicilia dalla preistoria ad oggi, edizione F. Le Monnier, 1963, pag 374; (data della morte)
- Caltanissetta nei tempi che furono e nei tempi che sono, Giovanni Mulè Bertòlo, edizione Forni, 1970, pag 34; (S. Francesco Saverio)
- Dizionariodegli artisti siciliani, Luigi Sarullo, editore Novecento, 1993; (data dinascita)
- C. Scarlata, Pittura-Scultura, arti minori. Dizionario degli artisti presenti a Caltanissetta e nei comuni della sua provincia, Ed. Lussografica Caltanissetta1999, p 53.
- La matricola di San Martino delle Scale (Archives du monastère), vie de Pierre Maria Piaggia.
79 000 €
Period: 17th century
Style: Louis 14th, Regency
Condition: Excellent condition
Material: Oil painting on copper
Width: 119
Height: 80
Reference (ID): 1796899
Availability: In stock
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