Francesco De Mura (1696 - 1782), Madonna and Child in Glory, and San Nicola da Tolentino

230 x 123 cm
Oil on canvas

The canvas is a beautiful altarpiece with the Madonna and Child at the top seated in the clouds, and at the bottom, two saints, both dressed in black. The one on the left is evidently a Franciscan, based on his habit tied with rope and clogs. On the right is Saint Ignatius of Loyola, in usual Jesuit dress. Both saints have the same iconographic attribute, the lily. At the bottom of the canvas there are two putti who, facing each other, hold a white flower in their hands; clearly one for each saint. The play of shadows and light, contrasted yet soft, and the white complexions that light up red on the cheeks, are clear indications of style that date the painting to the middle of the eighteenth century. The grace of the face and the swollen robes recall the world of Luca Giordano and that of Solimena, in the great Neapolitan tradition, but in this case more modern and mature. Francesco De Mura.