Gaspare Traversi

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 is in lovely condition, particularly given the tendency for pictures of this period to be in uneven condition. The canvas has a healthy glue lining which is nicely stabilizing the surface. The paint layer has been cleaned and varnished. There are a few retouches which have been applied in the lower right, lower left and in a few spots in the background behind the figure's head. In the figure himself the only restorations of note are visible under ultraviolet light in the forehead on the left side and although there are a few isolated dots elsewhere, they point to no condition issue and the picture should be hung as is.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Although more familiar as the creator of elegant and sometimes raucous genre scenes, Gaspare Traversi was also an accomplished and successful painter of religious subjects.  He received commissions from major religious institutions both in Rome, where he lived on and off from 1752, and in his native Naples.  The present Saint Andrew is an excellent example of his work in this area, and must have been produced by Traversi for a private patron.  This format of half length saint or apostle, strongly modeled and visually intense, had been popularized the century before by Ribera, and clearly Traversi is reacting to the older artist's example in the present canvas.  Also perceptible, however, is the still lingering influence of his master Francesco Solimena.

The Saint Andrew would appear to be slightly earlier than other comparable paintings from Traversi's oeuvre: for example, a Beggar in the collection of the Capodimonte, has been dated circa 1752 (see A.B. Rave, Gaspare Traversi, Stuttgart 2002, p. 159, cat. no. 9, illus., p. 90).  The same type of model also appears in his multifigural canvases painted in 1752 for San Paolo fuori le Mura,  his most important and artistically successful Roman commission (see L. Fornari Schianchi & N. Spinosa, Luce sul Settecento: Gaspare Traversi d l'arte del suo tempo in Emilia, exhibition catalogue, pp. 90-91, cat. nos. 16a-b).  Indeed, based on photographs, Professor Nicola Spinosa has confirmed the attribution of the present painting to Traversi, suggesting that it was likely painted before the artist's transfer to Rome, and that it should date to circa 1750.