The Holy Family, Genoese school of the second half of the seventeenth century Circle of Domenico Piola (Genoa 1627 -1703)

 

The Holy Family

Oil on canvas (83 x 68 cm. – in antique frame 99 x 82 cm.)

 

Link of the work

 

In the pleasant devotional work proposed, which depicts a classic Holy Family, the Virgin is portrayed, with a serene attitude, while tenderly supporting the Child in her arms, and Saint Joseph behind her, while lovingly observing the scene.

The fulcrum of the composition in this graceful canvas is centered on non-verbal communication, transmitted by the exchange of glances and movements, by the attitudes and movements between mother and child. Their searching gaze, as well as the gesture of the two hands crossing each other, make the composition an emblem of maternal love, rendered by the author with great poetry.

The stylistic analysis of the canvas, traced back to the hand of a painter of the Genoese school active during the 1627th century, allows us to find strong correlations with some paintings by Domenico Piola (Genoa, 1703-XNUMX), absolute protagonist of Genoese baroque culture , at a time of maximum production intensity.

Piola was the owner of the most important pictorial workshop in the city of the time, called "Casa Piola", where his sons Paolo Gerolamo and Anton Maria also collaborated.

His production specialized in a type of paintings with a strong decorative value, profane and allegorical, intended for the decoration of Genoese patrician palaces.

The reading of the canvas highlights his quick, almost sketchy touch and the use of light-bodied colour, typical of his way of painting, characterized by a 'modern' language, updated to the major innovations coming from driving centers such as Bologna and Rome, and therefore much appreciated by wealthy clients in Genoa in the seventeenth century.

The painting is in good condition, complete with a beautiful antique golden frame on which there are some slight defects related to the era.