Massimo Stanzione Orta di Atella near Caserta (?) 1585 (?) - 1656 (?) Naples (?)

From 1540 on, western missionaries traveled East to explore China and convert its inhabitants to Christianity.  The first missionary, and founder of the Catholic Missions of China, was Matteo Ricci.  Shortly after his death in 1610, he was replaced by Alvaro Semedo, a Portuguese Jesuit monk.

Semedo lived in China from 1613 to 1637.  During his stay he endeared himself to the locals and was given the name Father Tseng. In addition to his work as a missionary, Semedo published, upon his return to Madrid, accounts on political and secular affairs in China as well as information about the wars being fought between the Ming and the Manchus. Throughout the seventeenth century these descriptions of Chinese culture and politics were considered reliable and valuable sources of information.  Eventually, his writings were translated into multiple languages, among them Italian, Spanish, English, and French.

The inscription on this painting refers to Semedo's tenure as procurator for the Chinese mission in Rome.