Attributed to Nicolas Pierre Loir

Anonymous sale, London, Sotheby's, 4 December 2014, lot 196 (as Roman School, 17th century);
There acquired. 

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 on copper is in good condition. The copper paint is flat. The paint layer seems to have remained stable. There are a few spots beneath the child in the lower right and in the lower left. There are possibly some retouches in the red gown worn by one of the figures.
"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."

The painter of this small-scale copper of The Finding of Moses continues to elude scholars.  At the time of its sale in 2014 (see Provenance), the general consensus was that it was Italian, probably Roman, from the second half of the 17th century.  It has since been suggested that the painting is by Roman artists such as Francesco Cozza (1605-1682), Michelangelo Ricciolini (1654-1715), or Giuseppe Bartolomeo Chiari (1654-1727).   More recently, however, scholarship has pointed to France, and close to artists such as Nicolas-Pierre Loir and Jean Cotelle II (1607 - 1676), who both spent a number of years painting in Rome but ultimately worked in Paris.  

Though he studied with both Simon Vouet and Sebastien Bourdon, it was Nicolas Poussin that had the most influence on Loir's work.  The young artist spent almost a decade in Italy studying Poussin's paintings and is said to have made copies of his work.  The influence of Poussin's classicizing style and composition is evident in the present painting of The Finding of Moses.  Upon his return to France in 1650, Loir received numerous commissions for churches and private collectors in Paris. He was reçu by the Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture in 1663 and received a regular pension from King Louis XIV starting in 1668.