Full-length angel on a cloud

Oil painting on canvas

104 x 68 cm. - in frame 122 x 86 cm.

Provenance:

Munich, Hampel, Old Masters 25.03.2021

Estimate: € 35,000 - 45,000

Clean and restored

The splendid canvas that we are pleased to offer you depicts a large winged angel, of extraordinary beauty and ethereal features which, thanks to its elevated position with respect to the observer, gives us a sumptuous and extremely engaging image.

The young angel, with blond curly hair, wears a thin blue robe with an antique pink veil, and is placed on the frieze of a baroque stone scroll suspended on a floating cloud. He has large white wings, with his head stretched upwards while he sees eternity with shiny brown eyes and a slightly open mouth in a devout way in contemplation.

The image is particularly fascinating, characterized by a light color, with the suspended angel being radiated by a strong light, thanks to a refined and soulful painting, in mostly soft and delicate shades of blue and pink.

The work is perfectly ascribed to the catalog of Sebastiano Conca (1680 - 1764), presumably a preparatory image of him for a fresco of considerable size, and highlights all the best pictorial characteristics.

After a solid training in Naples, at the school of Francesco Solimena, Conca achieved success with his transfer to Rome in 1707 at the workshop of Carlo Maratta. Here he succeeded in the difficult task of entering the competitive Roman art scene, starting to address an international clientele, taking advantage of the continuous passage to Rome of collectors and intermediaries from all over Europe who appreciated his highly decorative Rococo style.

The painter was therefore able to profitably combine the attractiveness of the great tradition of the Neapolitan baroque and the international prestige guaranteed by Rome.

Between 1715 and 1725 he received commissions from Thomas Coke, Earl of Leicester, and from the Archbishop of Mainz Franz Lothar von Schönborn; later, in the fourth decade, his now consolidated prestige guaranteed him appointments from the elector of Bavaria, the king of Spain and the king of Portugal, as well as with France, despite the strong antagonism between the French and Italian schools of art.

The work is in excellent condition, already cleaned and relined. It comes complete with a beautiful antique carved and gilded frame