Corrado Giaquinto

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 work is in spectacular condition. The canvas has a very old glue lining that is still nicely supporting the original canvas. The paint layer shows all of its original texture. The paint layer is clean and well varnished. Almost all of the retouches are confined to the edges, particularly across the bottom, with only a few isolated spots showing under ultraviolet light within the figure group. Even the softly painted details in the lower left are beautifully preserved.
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Only recently discovered, this superb canvas depicting The Immaculate Conception with the Prophet Elijiah is a modello for Corrado Giaquinto’s altarpiece in the church of Madonna del Carmine, Turin.  The painting, which dates between 1740 and 1741, is one of four known studies relating to the Turin altarpiece.  One preparatory study, which concentrates on the representation of the Virgin, was supposedly donated by the artist himself to the Accademia di San Luca, Rome, where it remains today (inv. no. 0372, fig. 1).¹ A further study, similarly focused on the Virgin, was recorded in 1958 by Mario D’Orsi in the Capocchiani collection, Molfetta.²  Until the discovery of the present painting, the so-called “definitive” modello was considered to be that in the Pinacoteca Comunale, Montefortino (inv. no. 36), which is the only other painting besides this one to represent the composition in its entirety, complete with the depiction of Elijah.³

The altarpiece was commissioned for the church of Madonna del Carmine by the Marchese Ercole Giuseppe Lodovico Torinetti di Priero.  Giaquinto completed the canvas in Rome and sent it to Turin, where its arrival was recorded in the church’s Liber Diarius Secretarii Conventus Carmelitanorum on July 12, 1741: ''Addi 12 Luglio 1741 si ricevette nel nostro convento il quadro dell'Immaculata Concezione di Maria Vergine rappresentata con quella Visione della picciola nuvoletta avuta dal nostro S. Padre Elia” (“On the day of 12^th July 1741 we received in our convent the painting of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary represented in that Vision of the little cloud had by our Saint Father Elijah”).⁴

The composition is described in meticulous detail in the Liber Diarius.  The church's Carmelite priests dedicated particular devotion to the Prophet Elijah and from the entry, it seems the decision to include him in the altarpiece had been a very deliberate one.  The altarpiece was destined for a chapel dedicated to the prophet, “questo quadro fu lavorato ex professo in maniera che vi fosse dipinto il nostro Santo Padre Elia, affinchè detta cappella servi ancora per celebrare la festa di lui ai 20 di luglio” (“this picture was worked ex professo in such a manner that our Saint Father Elijah could be painted in order that said chapel could still serve for the celebration of his festival on the 20^th July”).  The convent was thrilled with the painting, claiming it to be “stimato per tutti per un Capo d’opera” (“admired by all as a masterpiece”) and considered to be worth far more than the amount paid.

1.  E. Gabrielli, in Giaquinto, Capolavori dalle corti in Europa, Milan 1993, exhibition catalogue, pp. 42-43, reproduced fig. 12.
2.  M. d’Orsi, Corrado Giaquinto, Rome 1958, p. 49, reproduced fig. 45.
3.  L. Di Giacomo in Giaquinto, Capolavori dalle corti in Europa, op. cit., pp. 144-145, cat. no. 14, reproduced.
4.  Liber Diarius Secretarii Conventus Carmelitanorum, vol. I, Ms. in the chiesa Parrocchiale del Carmine, Turin, entry for 12 July 1741.