Old Table Of The Italian School Of The XVIIth Century

Oil on panel, diameter 44 cm The painting is in an excellent state of conservation, it represents a scene of MARTIRIO with many figures perfectly represented. The subjects are painted in an elongated shape which is typical of the MICCO SPADARO style. The work was studied by Professor Ferdinando Arisi who attributed it to the hand of the master Micco Spadaro. The evaluation of Prof. Luigi Armondi, legal expert confirms the attribution and accompanies the painting. Micco Spadaro, born Domenico Gargiulo (Naples, 1609/1612 - 1675), was an Italian painter in the Baroque style, active mainly in Naples, known as a landscape painter and especially for having documented the tumultuous events of Naples in the 17th century. . The date of birth and death of Micco Spadaro is not known with certainty. Bernardo De Dominici, his first biographer, wrote that "he was born in the city of Naples in 1612 to Pietro Antonio, who practiced the art of sword-making in the street known as Visitapoveri" and that he died at the age of 67 (in 1679). However, in the parish records of the time, art historian Giuseppe Cela did not find any documents confirming these dates. The nickname by which he is universally known is due to the profession of his father, who was a craftsman forging swords. It started when he was taken over by Aniello Falcone, whom he attended along with Andre di Leone and Salvator Rosa. He then collaborated with Viviano Codazzi and his early works were influenced by Paul Bril and Filippo Napoletano. Among his main clients was the Flemish collector Gaspare Roomer, to whom the painter owed his fortune. He also worked for the Certosa di San Martino, where he painted in the Choir of Conversi and in the Quarto del prior. Spadaro's depictions of the Masaniello uprising and the plague of 1656 are also very famous.