87 - 17th-century Neapolitan painter

17th-century Neapolitan painter Dimensions: 84.5 x 68 cm Dimensions: 116 x 100 cm with frame St. Peter in Prayer. Approximately 1670 Oil on canvas This intriguing painting, clearly rooted in 17th-century Neapolitan culture, was shaped directly or indirectly by the dominant Riberist style. It is therefore fascinating to speculate on the identity of the artist—the master behind a painting and a subject that are strikingly relevant to the cultural climate in which it was created. In this regard, we quote the opinion of Prof. Stefano Causa: From a formal analysis perspective, the painting belongs to the southern artistic tradition of the second half of the 17th century. The influence of a foreign artist—crucial to the Neapolitan scene—such as Giovanni Lanfranco (who died in 1647) is clear; more specifically, a comparison suggests itself with the style of one of Lanfranco’s direct followers, Giovanni Battista Beinaschi—a master of Piedmontese origin who grew up in Rome and eventually settled in Naples, where he moved in the early 1660s. The head and pose of Saint Peter are derived from a prototype by Giovanni Battista Beinaschi depicting the same subject, now housed in the Civic Museums on Strada Nuova in Genoa.