28 - Alfonso di Spigna (Lacco Ameno 1697–1785)

Alfonso di Spigna (Lacco Ameno 1697–1785) Rest on the Flight into Egypt Oil on canvas Private collection Bibliography: unpublished On the reverse, a cartouche bearing an exhibition stamp from a German museum. The following is an assessment by Prof. Stefano Causa In excellent condition, the painting in question, datable to around 1754, is, to date, the masterpiece of Alfonso di Spigna, the greatest Ischian painter of the 18th century. Determined on stylistic grounds, the painter’s identity is confirmed by comparison with a canvas of the same subject, documented in 1754, for the Church of Santa Maria di Loreto in Forio d’Ischia. But numerous other references—in some cases literal—stand out in relation to the cycle in the church of San Michele, also in Forio. This fine master of the final wave of the Solimene school has been described in terms of neoclassical poetics, and there is no doubt that *Rest on the Flight into Egypt* establishes the relative autonomy of this work during the years when the Neapolitan art scene was divided between the great achievements of Francesco de Mura’s mature period and the decoration of the Sansevero Chapel. Shipping within Italy: €80 EU: €180