Lot Essay
Little is known about the enigmatic Giuseppe di Franco. There was a payment recorded between Franco and Artemisia Gentileschi in September of 1652 and he likely worked closely with Onofrio Palumbo.
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Property of a Charitable Trust
GIUSEPPE DI FRANCO (ACTIVE IN NAPLES C.1650)
The Adoration of the Magi
Details
GIUSEPPE DI FRANCO (ACTIVE IN NAPLES C.1650)
The Adoration of the Magi
signed 'GIOSEPPE DE / FRÃCO F.' (on the stonework, lower right)
oil on canvas, unframed
85 1⁄8 x 121 5⁄8 in. (216.2 x 309 cm.)
The Adoration of the Magi
signed 'GIOSEPPE DE / FRÃCO F.' (on the stonework, lower right)
oil on canvas, unframed
85 1⁄8 x 121 5⁄8 in. (216.2 x 309 cm.)
Provenance
Anonymous sale; Sotheby's, New York, 13 January 1978, lot 96, where acquired by a private collector and by whom gifted on 24 April 2018 to the present owner.
Literature
G. Porzio & A.E. Denuzio, Artemisia Gentileschi a Napoli, exhibition catalogue, Naples, 2022, p. 36-37, fig. 7.
Exhibited
South Hadley, MA, Mount Holyoke College Art Museum, on loan 1984-2020.
Sale Room Notice
We are grateful to Giuseppe Porzio for pointing out that this work is by the Neapolitan painter Giuseppe Di Franco, an artist working in the circle of Artemisia Gentileschi in the mid-seventeenth century. The picture is published in Artemisia Gentileschi a Napoli, exh. cat., Naples, 2022-23, pp. 36-37, fig. 7.
Brought to you by
Jonquil O’Reilly
Vice President, Specialist, Head of Sale