Dario's Family At The Feet Of Alexander, By Sebastiano Conca (attributed By Roberto Longhi),

The work is accompanied by a handwritten report by Roberto Longhi, dated August 1963, in which the art historian attributes the painting to Sebastiano Conca. In the note, Longhi identifies the “vibrant painting” and the “scenographic composition” as characteristics of a work conceived as a sketch or preparatory model, highlighting the connection between the artist’s Neapolitan training under Francesco Solimena and his subsequent evolution within the 18th-century Roman art scene. The composition, dedicated to the famous episode of Alexander’s clemency toward Darius’s family, reveals a dynamic and theatrical structure, achieved through the arrangement of the figures, the vivid color palette, and the fluid application of paint. The detailed figures deserve equal attention beyond the roles of the individual characters, who are always refined and strongly distinctive, enriching the entire composition with a unique expressive subtlety. Particularly significant is the comparison with the Nativity of the Virgin, formerly in the Longhi Collection, presented by Farsettiarte, where the attribution to Conca is accompanied by a reference to the same compositional style and to the series of large canvases preserved in Spoleto. The Farsetti painting, in a horizontal format (32.3 × 57.3 cm), similarly displays a fluid and luminous style, a scenographic composition structured around groups of figures, and particular attention to the modulation of color transitions. In our painting, these characteristics take on a more pronounced narrative tension and greater pictorial definition, while remaining consistent with the tradition of 18th-century sketchwork and Conca’s characteristic pictorial synthesis. The work is in good condition, with minimal paint restoration; it has been re-stretched and is set in an 18th-century frame. Canvas dimensions: 56 × 76 cm; with frame: 71 × 88 cm.
Sebastiano Conca (Gaeta, 1680 – Naples, 1764) was one of the most influential painters of the Italian Late Baroque and Rococo periods. Trained in Naples in the workshop of Francesco Solimena, he moved to Rome in 1706, where he quickly gained widespread international fame. Supported by prominent patrons and cardinals, he received prestigious commissions for major Roman churches and European courts. His painting, characterized by an elegant compositional balance, luminosity, and academic mastery, led him to serve as Prince of the Academy of San Luca. In his later years, he returned to Naples, leaving a fundamental legacy in 18th-century art.
Roberto Longhi (Alba, 1890 – Florence, 1970) was one of the most celebrated Italian art historians and critics of the 20th century. Recognized for his rigorous method of visual analysis and a literary style of extraordinary richness, he revolutionized art historiography by rediscovering and highlighting masters such as Caravaggio and Piero della Francesca. A professor at the universities of Bologna and Florence, he trained generations of scholars and founded the historic journal *Paragone*. His private collection and library, preserved in Florence at the foundation named after him, are today an indispensable reference point for the visual arts.