59 - Lorenzo de Caro (Naples, documented from 1740 to 1762)

Lorenzo de Caro (Naples, documented from 1740 to 1762) Jailah Shows Barak the Body of Sisera Oil on paper mounted on wood 26 x 34 cm Provenance: Lucio Pagliari Collection, Milan The work shares significant stylistic similarities with the works of Lorenzo de Caro. In particular, the swift and brilliant execution, as well as the chromatic freshness typical of his mature phase, when Solimena’s influence was certainly much less evident. Furthermore, the figures in the lower left can be found in various works by the master; in particular, the horsemen—who are very similar even in their movements—appear in the work *The Beheading of a Saint*, published in N. Spinosa, *Neapolitan Painting of the Eighteenth Century: From Rococo to Classicism*, fig. 1, p. 169 We have no biographical information about Lorenzo de Caro; he trained under Solimena. His works are known to date from 1740, when he worked in Piedimonte San Gennaro, present-day Cassino. This was followed by years during which he devoted himself extensively to both decorative work and painting for churches and collectors, to the point of being considered one of the leading figures in Neapolitan painting of the mid-18th century. The final act of his earthly and artistic life is found in the signature on the canvas *Allegory of Virtue*, dated 1761, preserved in the Church of Cesarea in Naples. Lorenzo de Caro (Naples, documented from 1740 to 1762) Jael Showing the Lifeless Body of Sisera to Barak Oil on paper mounted on panel 26 × 34 cm Provenance: Lucio Pagliari Collection, Milan The painting displays significant stylistic affinities with the works of Lorenzo de Caro. In particular, its swift and lively execution, together with the freshness of its color palette, are characteristic of the artist’s mature period, when the influence of Solimena had become considerably less pronounced. Furthermore, the group of figures in the lower left corner finds parallels in several works by the artist. In particular, the horsemen, whose poses are strikingly similar, also appear in the painting *The Beheading of a Saint*, published in N. Spinosa, *Pittura napoletana del Settecento dal Rococò al Classicismo*, fig. 1, p. 169.