Artista caravaggesco attivo a Napoli, primi decenni XVII secolo, The Flagellation of Christ

Oil on canvas
cm. 190x113,5. Antique Frame
This large canvas is an interesting testimony to the immediate suggestion of the Flagellation of Christ painted by Caravaggio for the church of San Domenico Maggiore in 1607, during his first stay in Naples. In addition to the general dependence on Caravaggio's supreme prototype, it is worth emphasising more specifically in our painting the analogy between the posture of the flagellator's head and that of the similar figure bent over to the left of Christ in Caravaggio's work, as can be seen in the repentance of the first draft left clearly perceptible following restoration. The author of our canvas could therefore be a painter who had access to Caravaggio's Neapolitan workshop and saw an early draft of the painting in San Domenico Maggiore.

This large canvas is an interesting testimony to the immediate suggestion of the Flagellation of Christ painted by Caravaggio for the church of San Domenico Maggiore in 1607, during his first stay in Naples. In addition to the general dependence on Caravaggio's supreme prototype, it is worth emphasising more specifically in our painting the analogy between the posture of the flagellator's head and that of the similar figure bent over to the left of Christ in Caravaggio's work, as can be seen in the repentance of the first draft left clearly perceptible following restoration. The author of our canvas could therefore be a painter who had access to Caravaggio's Neapolitan workshop and saw an early draft of the painting in San Domenico Maggiore.