LUCA GIORDANO
Naples, 1634-1705
Olindus and Sophronia
oil on canvas, cm 62×78
The episode depicted here, drawn from Jerusalem Delivered by Torquato Tasso (II, 14–36), recounts an intense story rich in moral values that were particularly admired in the culture of the 17th century. In order to save the lives of the Christians of Jerusalem – collectively accused by King Aladino of the mysterious disappearance of a sacred image – the young Christian woman Sofronia assumes responsibility for the deed, courageously facing the sentence of death at the stake. Olindo, secretly in love with her, in turn attempts to take the blame upon himself in order to save her; his gesture, however, fails to prevent the condemnation of both. They are ultimately saved by Clorinda, the Muslim heroine, who intervenes on their behalf: in the painting she is shown on horseback, indicating the two youths as exemplars of truth and justice. As confirmed by Nicola Spinosa, author of a study devoted to the painting, this canvas is an autograph work by Luca Giordano. The Neapolitan master – one of the leading figures of 17th-century European painting – executed between 1675 and 1680 a large composition on the same subject (363 × 375 cm), together with other monumental canvases destined for the Roman residence of the Marquis Marcantonio Grillo, Marquis of Clarafuentes. Later entering the Balbi collection in Genoa, the work eventually came to the Royal Palace (Palazzo Durazzo) in the same city, where it is still preserved today. The scholar notes that the present unpublished painting, which shows numerous differences from the composition formerly belonging to the Grillo family, should be regarded as a “reduced version with several variants,” proposing a date between 1680 and 1685.
The most notable variations concern the different arrangement of the figures of Olindo and Sofronia, as well as that of the executioner in the foreground. One also observes the absence of the figure of King Aladino, replaced by another executioner carrying in his arms a bundle of wood intended for the pyre. The figure placed in the lower right has also been altered: instead of the Black servant holding a greyhound on a leash, present in the large composition, we find here a young blond page accompanied by a dog of a different breed. The figure of Clorinda on horseback remains almost identical; likewise, in the background to the right, both versions include the same profile of a cylindrical tower, part of the walls of Jerusalem, which helps define the setting of the scene. From a painterly point of view, despite its smaller dimensions, the canvas displays a rapid and abbreviated handling of paint, executed with luminous touches applied almost a macchia. This quality of execution suggests the hypothesis that, beyond the compositional variants noted, the work may be interpreted as a preparatory sketch for the large composition that once belonged to the Grillo collection, later Balbi, and finally Durazzo.
Publications:
“I tesori nascosti. Tino di Camaino, Caravaggio, Gemito”, exhibition catalogue edited by Vittorio Sgarbi, Fondazione Pietrasanta Polo museale, Maggioli Musei Edizioni, Rimini, 2017, pp. 172-175.