Andrea Vaccaro

With Gennaro Improta, via Santa Caterina a Chiaia 21, Naples, in the 19th century;
Acquired from the above by the grandfather of the present owners in Naples, on 2nd June 1896 (according to the original handwritten bill of sale still in possession of the family; see fig. 1), and shipped by him directly to Alexandria, Egypt, and subsequently, in 1927, to Athens, Greece;
Thence by family descent.

The following condition report is provided by Sarah Walden, who is an external specialist and not an employee of Sotheby's. This painting has an old lining which is no longer holding the paint securely. There is much old flaking in the lower part of the canvas, and there has been some past restoration and repaint now darkened for instance along the lower arm of the daughter on the right and in various places elsewhere. There is also some old wear. More recent loose paint will need consolidation and a full relining. Old discoloured retouching and darkened varnish would involve a general restoration as well. However the beautiful head and chest of Lot and much of the upper part of the painting is finely preserved. As with many dark ground paintings the half tones in the lighter flesh painting of the women has sunk slightly so that the darks submerge the subtleties of the modelling in the faces for instance but the drama of the scene remains vey powerful. This report was not done under laboratory conditions.
"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The exciting discovery of this hitherto unpublished painting of Lot and His Daughters puts Andrea Vaccaro at the forefront of baroque painting in Naples, alongside other more widely-recognised masters such as Bernardo Cavallino, Massimo Stanzione and Artemisia Gentileschi. Vaccaro's position as one of the leading Neapolitan artists of his generation has been reaffirmed by Anna K. Tuck-Scala in her recently-published monograph on the artist (Andrea Vaccaro (Naples, 1604-1670): His Documented Life and Art, Naples 2011).

Vaccaro’s painting style is ultimately inspired by Caravaggio, especially in its use of chiaroscuro and in his figures adopting naturalistic poses, but his ‘caravaggism' is tempered by the elegance of Bernardo Cavallino, with whom Vaccaro came into contact in the second half of the 1630s. Stanzione and Artemisia Gentileschi constitute the other over-riding influences in Vaccaro’s work at this time and all three artists enjoyed considerable success amongst their fellow Neapolitan artists and patrons. Stanzione returned to Naples (from Rome) in 1630 and Artemisia probably arrived in the city a year or two before him, remaining in Naples until her death (except for a period of activity in London from 1638 until at least 1641). In this extraordinary painting of Lot and His Daughters the influence of both these artists is felt in a number of ways: the elegant forms, especially those of the two women; details such as the ribboned sandal of the left-hand woman or the lace trim on the white shirt worn by the other; and the choice of colour palette - in particular, the blue of the skirt worn by the woman lower right - is strongly reminiscent of Stanzione. Vaccaro must also have looked to Jusepe de Ribera, whose works of the 1630s were greatly admired in Naples, and indeed the Lot and His Daughters was for a long time considered to be by Ribera, as attested to by the presence of a false signature and date lower right. Although many of Vaccaro's later paintings are signed - normally with his recognisable 'AV' monogram - very few of them are dated or documented. A clear chronology for his work is thus extremely difficult to establish, further complicated by the fact that he often repeated his compositions, but this painting may be dated on grounds of style to Vaccaro's early maturity.¹ The painting is not only unique in composition but it is particularly distinctive in Vaccaro’s oeuvre for its imposing scale and ambitious composition. The picture was almost certainly intended for a private patron, its considerable dimensions suited to the walls of a palazzo. Rarely does Vaccaro achieve the pictorial refinement exemplified here: the sophisticated interplay between the three figures of Lot and his two daughters is set against the backdrop of a burning Sodom, as told in the Old Testament (Book of Genesis 19: 30-38). Vaccaro’s refinement in describing textures, in particular those of the still-life elements in this painting, is clearly visible through the painting’s discoloured varnish: the ornate ormolu urn held by the woman on the left contrasts with the glazed earthenware of the overturned jug just below it, and the artist convincingly portrays the delicate façon-de-venise wineglass held up by Lot.

We are extremely grateful to Prof. Nicola Spinosa and Prof. Riccardo Lattuada for independently endorsing the attribution to Andrea Vaccaro after firsthand inspection of the painting. Prof. Spinosa considers the painting to date from the end of the 1630s, or more likely around 1640, whilst Prof. Lattuada believes the work to date from earlier in the decade. Prof. Spinosa compares the painting to Vaccaro's Saint Sebastian in the Museo e Gallerie Nazionali di Capodimonte, Naples, and to the Noli me Tangere in the Galleria Nazionale, Cosenza.²

The painting has been in the present owners' family since the end of the 19th century. Their grandfather acquired it in Naples in 1896, for 200 italian lire in gold, from an art dealer called Gennaro Improta, whose handwritten bill of sale still survives (see fig. 1). The painting was subsequently exported from Italy with a value of 400 italian lire - the export document, dated 3rd June 1896, still survives - and shipped to his home in Alexandria, Egypt, where it arrived in August of that year. When the owners' grandfather moved from Alexandria to Athens in 1927 he took the painting with him and it has remained in the family home ever since.

1.  See his numerous variants of The Penitent Magdalene in Palermo, Trapani and Salerno, for example (G. de Vito,"Appunti per Andrea Vaccaro con una nota su alcune copie del Caravaggio che esistevano a Napoli", in Ricerche sul '600 napoletano. Saggi e documenti per la storia dell'arte 1994-1995, Naples 1996, p. 63 ff., reproduced pp. 121-23, figs. 49-51).
2.  Reproduced in De Vito, op. cit., p. 67, fig. 3 and p. 76, fig. 11.