Gherardo Poli and Giuseppe Poli

A Performance from the Commedia dell’Arte set in a Piazza

1725-1730

Provenance: Christie’s, London, 3 March 1922, lot 46 (with The Tower of Babel); James Nicoll Private Collection Sotheby’s, London, 29 March 1983, lot 157 Private Collection, New Yo...

Provenance: Private Collection, Paraguay, for at least the last 80 years Painted in the Viceroyalty of Peru during the 18th century, the present work depicts the young Christ as the Niño de la Espina—a devotional representation of Christ as he looks down at his bleeding finger, which has been pricked by the crown of thorns resting on his lap. The subject of the Young Christ Pricked by a Thorn was especially popular in Cuzco, and the rich details and decorative elements of our work perfectly capture the essence and style of the Cuzco School of painting. In our painting, Christ wears an intricately patterned floor-length robe trimmed with gilded cuffs and a gilded collar. The delicate gilding, including the halo of golden rays emanating from his head, are executed in brocateado, an ornamental over-gilding technique that is characteristic of the Cuzco School. The red chair on which Christ sits also includes brocateado in the decorative gilt elements. The form of the chair takes inspiration from those commonly used by friars both in Spain and the Andes, known as silla frailera or sillon frailero, and was also frequently employed in related depictions of the Virgin Mary Spinning. Here the young Christ is rendered with soft, elongated features that reflect the influence of the Italian Mannerist painters who were pivotal to the formation of the Cuzco School, including the Jesuit friar Bernardo Bitti and Matteo Pérez del Alesio. Additionally, while its origins can be traced to Northern European pictorial traditions, the lush flower garland that frames the work is a signature feature of Cuzqueño painting...