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a drawing of a scene with a man on a horse and a woman on a horse
Dams Casa d'Aste

11 - Francesco Solimena (circle of) – Deborah and Barak Black pen…
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Estimate €600 - €800
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Description
Francesco Solimena (circle of) – Deborah and Barak Black pencil with brown ink highlights on laid paper, 554 x 437 mm The large sheet depicts the Old Testament episode of Deborah and Barak, rendered through a complex and intricate composition dominated by the figure of the prophetess, seated on the left, and that of Barak, in armour and holding a long spear, in the centre. Surrounding the main figures is a dense array of figures, whilst in the upper part a group of angels emerges from the clouds. The composition reproduces with remarkable fidelity a well-known composition by Francesco Solimena, documented by a painted version of Deborah and Barak dating from the second decade of the 18th century. Particularly significant is not only the similarity in the arrangement of the figures, but also that of the format: this sheet, measuring 55 × 44 cm, has proportions almost identical to those of the painting, which measures 130.2 × 104.5 cm.The technique used is also of particular interest. The sheet was initially sketched in black pencil, then refined and redrawn in pen and brown ink, following a process that lends the composition a particularly polished and meticulous quality. The underlying drawing remains legible in several places and allows one to trace the gradual refinement of the figures, the drapery and the details.The success of this specific design in the world of printmaking is documented by a particularly significant fact. Francesco La Marra produced an engraving based on a drawing by Francesco Solimena—which is now lost—faithfully reproducing the figures in the composition. This evidence is noted by Cristiana Romalli in the catalogue of Solimena’s drawings (see C. Romalli, in N. Spinosa, Francesco Solimena (1657–1747) and the Arts in Naples, 2018, vol. II, pp. 206–207, D87). The documented existence of a now-lost graphic prototype by Solimena, used as a model for the subsequent engraving, makes this sheet particularly significant in terms of the composition’s genesis and reception.Its considerable size, the fully developed nature of the composition and the meticulous rendering of the individual figures also find parallels in Solimena’s graphic output, which includes large compositional sheets known to have been intended for the study and refinement of complex pictorial compositions.In light of these elements, the drawing constitutes a document of considerable interest within the context of Solimena’s graphic culture of the first half of the 18th century. Its relationship with the lost drawing by Solimena, mentioned in the sources and used for La Marra’s engraving, presents a critical issue worthy of further investigation and lends the sheet particular historical and collectable interest. It bears the inscription ‘Solimena’ in the bottom right-hand corner.Comparative bibliography: C. Romalli, in N. Spinosa, Francesco Solimena (1657–1747) and the Arts in Naples, Rome 2018, vol. II, pp. 206–207, D87.
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About the sale Paintings and Drawings from the 15th to the 19th century
Auction location
Auction time 10/29/2026 at 3:00 PM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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