SEBASTIANO CONCA (Gaeta 1680 - Naples 1764) Madonna and Child Oval oil on copper, cm.33 x 24. PROVENANCE Roman family The small painting offered here, represents a splendid example of the production intended for private commissions that constituted a minor but relevant aspect in the activity of the painter and his workshop. As B. De Dominici, about the many paintings kept by Cardinal Ruffa and many Roman patricians, it was the small-format works that made Conca famous, even among the many foreign patrons. The balance now achieved between the classicism of Carlo Maratta, with which the artist was confronted upon his arrival in Rome at the end of the first decade of the 18th century, and the models of his early training, suggest a dating of the painting after the 1930s Condition report No integrative pictorial interventions worthy of mention are noted. The painting is in excellent condition FRAME St. Rose oval frame in gilt and carved wood with palmette and pod borders, 18th century. We would like to thank Prof. Nicola Spinosa, Prof. Daniele Benati, Prof. Alessandro Agresti and Prof. F. Petrucci for confirming the assignment with oral opinion

Neapolitan school, possibly SEBASTIANO CONCA (Gaeta 1680 - Naples, 1764); XVIII century. "The Adoration of the Shepherds". Oil on canvas. Measurements: 53 x 41 cm. The adoration of the shepherds is a traditional theme in the world of art in which Jesus is presented to us as a king. A humble king who is born in a haystack. In this case the work has been conceived in a theatrical way with the presence of the Child in the center as usual and a large number of characters who adore his presence and pay him homage. The artist has moved the figures to the background leaving a slight space in the foreground that gives spatiality to the work and also a certain lightness that facilitates the compression of a composition with so many characters. The light seems to radiate directly from the body of the Child, whose luminosity is further enhanced by the white cloth that surrounds him. This light illuminates the face of the Virgin, highlighting it against the background, and affects other points of the composition creating an expressive and effective play of chiaroscuro, typically baroque. Aesthetically the work is very reminiscent of Sebastiano Conca, an Italian painter active during the Baroque period. One of the most acclaimed artists of his time, he had the opportunity to produce large-scale works, in which he combined the grandeur typical of the late Baroque and the classicist style of Carlo Maratta.