Pietro Paolini

The catalogue reproduction is faithful to the painting. The canvas has a recent and stiff relining which has rather flattened the paint surface. Under the glossy varnish the painting appears in structurally sound but several areas of retouching can be made, particularly in the background, and scattered in the figure and guitar, as confirmed by inspection under UV light. Areas of retouching include the background right and lower left, patches of the guitar, the sitter's face upper right and left. Areas of strenghening include the background upper left, the hair of the sitter, his hands and sleeves, and elsewhere. The large painting retains the strong visual impact characteristic of the artist and is offered in a period black wooden painted frame with some small losses.
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NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

This rediscovered painting is a typical work by the Tuscan artist Pietro Paolini. Apparently unrecorded, the design fits into the artist's series of figures in interior settings, where they are usually busying themselves sculpting or playing musical instruments.¹  As in all his works, the physiognomy of the figures, with their high cheekbones and strong brows, is instantly recognisable.

Paolini's idiosyncratic take on Caravaggism developed during his training with Angelo Caroselli in Rome, but he betrays his Tuscan roots in his more colourful palette. On his return to his native Lucca after his training in Rome and a sojourn in Venice, Paolini founded an academy with the help of the still-life painter Simone del Tintore, with whom he is known to have collaborated on occasion.³

The attribution has been endorsed by Prof.ssa Mina Gregori (private communication to the owner).


1. See the Allegorical Scene with two Figures in P. Giusti Maccari, Pietro Paolini, pittore lucchese, Lucca 1987, pp. 80-81, cat. no. 5, reproduced.
2. See the Fruitseller sold in these Rooms, 12 July 2001, lot 68, for £120,000.