Gaspare Traversi

Anonymous sale, New York, Christie's, 11 January 1979, lot 45;
With Colnaghi, London;
Private Collection, London, by 1981;
Anonymous sale, Milan, Christie's, 22 May 2007, lot 47. where purchased by the present owner.

N. Spinosa in Sebastiano Conca (1680 - 1764), exhibition catalogue, Gaeta 1981, p. 82, reproduced fig. 9;
N. Spinosa, Pittura napolitana del Settecento, dal Rococò al Classicismo, Naples 1987, p.97, cat. no. 83, reproduced fig.101;
N. Spinosa, Gaspare Traversi, napoletani del '700 tra miseria e nobilità, exhibition catalogue, Naples 2003-2004, p. 227, cat. no. R18.

The following condition report has been provided by Simon Parkes of Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc. 502 East 74th St. New York, NY 212-734-3920, simonparkes@msn.com, an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. This painting has been recently restored and should be hung as is. The canvas has a non-acidic lining, the surface is stable and the cracking is slightly visible yet is nonetheless relaxed. There do not appear to be any structural damages. The retouches, all of which are clearly visible under ultraviolet light, have been accurately applied to reduce cracking and some isolated patches of thinness to the paint layer with no particular concentration of retouching anywhere. In our opinion the painting is in healthy condition.
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

This intensely expressive canvas is published by Nicola Spinosa who dates it to the end of the 1740s.¹  The influence of Ribera and Caravaggio is manifested here in the striking chiaroscuro effect created by the warm light transfused from upper left and casting the figures into relief.   A sense of peaceful silence pervades the composition as the young girl watches patiently, clasping a doll and the young boy leans serenely in his mother's lap.  The glossy hue of the cherries in his hand draws the eye back to the red sewing cushion contrasting the relaxed pose of the child with the posed concentration of the young woman as she sews.   The gestures of the young woman in yellow are repeated by the maid, teasing thread behind her and the gentleman reaching toward her and motioning with pinched finger and thumb.   This scene is representative of the artist's juvenile works in the period before his definitive move to Rome in 1752 when his paintings often, as here, expressed discernible moralistic connotations such as filial virtue, further exemplified in The Diligent Daughter and the Idle Son, (Young Memorial Museum, San Francisco).²

1.  N. Spinosa, Pittura napolitana (see under Literature), p. 83, cat. no 83. 
2.  N. Spinosa, Gaspare Traversi (see under Literature), pp.106-107, cat. no. R16.