Corrado Giaquinto

Possibly Cardinal Pietro Ottoboni (1667-1740).

Possibly E.J. Olszewski, The Inventory of Paintings of Cardinal Pietro Ottoboni (1667-1740), New York 2003, p. 94, no. C-232.

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 seems to have been recently restored and can easily be hung in its current condition. The canvas has a glue lining, which is effective. The paint layer is clean and varnished. Under ultraviolet light, retouches are evident in the upper right corner around the putti, but do not actually interfere with any of them. There are also retouches on the lower right side within the three figures here; the heads of the two bearded figures on the immediate right show quite a lot of restoration. The lowest of the three heads is not restored. Within the remainder of the composition, including all of the figures and other elements, the condition is extremely good, with only a few restorations around the extreme edges.
"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."

­­­This painting is a reduced version of the great altarpiece of the Assumption of the Virgin painted by Giaquinto in 1739 for the high altar of the Church of the Assumption in Rocca di Papa, southeast of Rome.¹  The altarpiece, commissioned by Cardinal Pietro Ottoboni (1667-1740), was one of the most important projects of the artist’s Roman period.  Ottoboni was a grand nephew of Pope Alexander VIII and one of the great art patrons of his generation.  Other artists who worked under his auspices included Sebastiano Conca, and Francesco Trevisani, as well as some of the greatest musicians of the period such as Arcangelo Corelli.

The highly finished state of the present work indicates that, rather than a preliminary work or presentation piece, it was more likely a replica made by the artist after the completion of the altarpiece.  Following the realization of his highly successful commission, Ottoboni himself may have requested a reduced version for his personal collection, or Giaquinto may have received a separate commission from another admiring patron.  In fact, a painting by “Corrado" depicting the Assumption is listed as number 232 in the inventory of paintings belonging to Ottoboni drawn up in 1742 after his death.  Though the inventory does not give any measurements for this work, it is listed as “similar” to the previous painting on the inventory (no. 231 which is also a work by “Corrado”) for which measurements are given as “alto palmi quattro in piedi. Largo palmi due.”²  Though these dimensions do not match those of the present work, they do indicate an easel size painting.  Given the inconsistencies in old inventories, it is possible that the “Assumption” listed in the Ottoboni inventory is identifiable with the present painting.

Giaquinto arrived in Rome in 1727 from Naples where he had trained in the studio of Nicola Maria Rossi and had been greatly influenced by the grandiose style of Francesco Solimena.  In Rome, and during a brief sojourn in Turin in 1733 and 1735, he was exposed to the works of artists such as Conca, Carle Vanloo and Francesco de Mura. The Rocca di Papa altarpiece and the present replica, with their dramatic sense of movement and exquisite coloration, epitomize the grand Rococo style that Giaquinto perfected during his first decade in Rome.

We are grateful to Prof. Nicola Spinosa for endorsing the attribution to Giaquinto on the basis of photographs.


1.  Oil on canvas, 450 by 280 cm.
2.  “Four palmi in vertical height. Two palmi wide”: approximately 89.4 by 44.7 cm. in modern measurements.