Alberto Carlieri (Roma 1672-1720)

Alberto Carlieri (Rome 1672-1720), Architectural Capriccio with the Sermon of Saint Paul in the Areopagus of Athens Oil on canvas, dimensions with frame L 172 x H 127 x D 10.5 (canvas only cm L 135 x H 99) Price: private negotiation Item accompanied by a certificate of authenticity and historical-artistic expertise (attached at the bottom of the page) The large and valuable painting, executed in oil on canvas, depicts an Architectural Capriccio with the Sermon of Saint Paul in the Areopagus of Athens. The work is attributable to the hand of the famous Roman painter Alberto Carlieri (Rome 1672-1720). On the back of the frame are two wax seals with the coat of arms and motto of the commissioner or of a subsequent noble ownership. The noble coat of arms consists of two supporters (human figures in arms) holding a Samnite shield composed and divided, that is, from the union of two family crests separated vertically: on the right a rampant lion, on the left a chevron accompanied by three spindles, placed two at the top and one at the bottom. The shield is surmounted by a profile helmet, a symbol of the noble belonging of the family, adorned with lambrequins. The ancient nobility and feudal power are confirmed by the castle that overflows the helmet, depicted as a Guelph crenellated fort, equipped with two towers, each with three merlons. The coat of arms is accompanied by a motto "STET FORTUNA DOMUS/ FORTES FORTUNA JUVAT". The first part can be translated into Italian as "Let fortune stay at home", while "Fortes fortuna (ad)iuvat" is the version, attributed to Terence (Phormio 203) and to Pliny the Younger (in his first letter to Tacitus, referring to his uncle, Pliny the Elder), of "Audentes fortuna iuvat", a locution of Virgil used by Turnus to his men in exhorting them to attack Aeneas. Literally "Fortune favors the bold", the expression is commonly translated into Italian as "Fortune favors the brave". A study dedicated to the heraldic coat of arms described here could therefore reveal the name of the noble family that owned the painting, adding a possible collecting history to the work. The composition of the canvas is characteristic, as we will see, of Carlieri's artistic expression. The subject depicted, namely The Sermon of Saint Paul, is set among imposing architectural ruins of fantasy, called "Architectural Capriccios". The architectural capriccio, an artistic genre that makes its way into Italian painting starting from the 17th century, is characterized by the representation of fantastic architectures or inventions of a perspective type, sometimes combined with elements freely drawn from reality. The canvas in question presents a notable artistic interest and significant pictorial quality. The scenographic architecture of invention confers solemn classicism to the place, amplified by the play of lights and shadows, acting as a theater and frame to the scene. In the foreground, from the shadow emerge on the right a partly collapsed colonnade, while on the left, parts of columns are piled on the ground, including a Corinthian order capital. The characters are in the center of the canvas, in the background. All around are described the remains of classical buildings, characterized by a composite style, smooth columns, Corinthian capitals, trabeations with metopes and Doric friezes. On the right one observes a sepulcher and further on a large marble vase sculpted with bas-reliefs. To close the architectural environment there is a powerful building with an arch and a large fornix, bas-relief with Roman soldiers, pilasters and columns of composite order. Some greenery has sprouted at its top, giving picturesque characteristics to the canvas. The landscape fades into the horizon where it is possible to glimpse a bay, the sea and a promontory described in bluish tones. The clear and blue sky is marked by vaporous gray-pink clouds. The scene depicted is The Sermon of Saint Paul in the Areopagus of Athens. Saint Paul is clearly recognizable by some elements that belong to his traditional iconography: depicted hoary and bald, with a long and elongated beard, he wears a green tunic with a red cloak and wields, here with his left hand, a sword with the tip pointing towards the ground. The sword, symbol of power, has a double interpretive: it alludes in fact both to the beheading, or the martyrdom of Saint Paul, and to the strength of faith and the proclamation of the divine word. Paul in fact spoke to the gentiles, that is, to the peoples of Greco-Latin culture, considered pagans by the Jews, of "the sword of the Spirit, that is, the word of God" (Eph. 6,17). The sword is a part of the spiritual armor that Paul says to wear to allow to fight effectively against evil. The scene depicted is inspired by the moment when Paul delivers a speech in Athens at the Areopagus (in Acts of the Apostles 17:16-34). This is one of the most dramatic and most detailedly reported moments of the missionary career of Saint Paul. The Apostle had encountered opposition in his preaching in Thessalonica and Berea in northern Greece and, between the end of 49 and the beginning of 50, he goes to Athens to be safe. Afflicted to see Athens full of idols, Paul goes to the Areopagus, the high court of Athens, to explain what he claimed. "Areopagus" literally means "Rock of Ares"; it was a place where there were temples, cultural structures and was the high court of the city. Paul's speech is based on five main points: the ignorance of pagan worship; the object of worship is the only God Creator; the relationship of God with humanity; idols of gold, silver and stone as objects of false worship; and in conclusion, it is time to end ignorance. This speech is one of the first attempts to explain the nature of Christ and is a first step in the path that leads to the development of Christology. The work, painted with great finesse even in the details and in the small figurines, is certainly attributable to the important Roman painter Alberto Carlieri (Rome, 1672 - 1720) as it is possible to find common stylistic motifs of his works. Characteristic elements are the suggestive compositional dispositions and the remarkable mastery in the direction of lights, as well as the richness of the architecture and the refined, as well as meticulous, descriptivism of the details. Peculiar to the author is also the lively attitude of the figures, resolved with fluency in the use of color, and harmoniously inserted in the architectures. Carlieri was born in Rome in 1672 and began studying painting of architectures under the guidance of Giuseppe de Marchis. He became a pupil and then collaborator of Andrea Pozzo. Present in the most illustrious Roman picture galleries, from the collection of Filippo II Colonna, the Rospigliosi and Cardinal Valenti Gonzaga, Carlieri elaborates well recognizable compositional models, influenced, in addition to the painting of the master, also that of Viviano and Nicolò Codazzi. His pictorial activity can be followed through the signed works, around which it has been possible to build a not small catalog of canvases. The news on Carlieri and his signed or dated works are spaced between about 1690 and 1720. Nothing precise is known of the life of the painter, who should have died in Rome shortly after 1720. Among the studies on Carlieri is significant what investigated by Marshall, and later reiterated by Giancarlo Sestieri, about the influence that Giovanni Ghisolfi (Milan 1623-1683) and Giovanni Paolo Panini (Piacenza 1691 - Rome 1765) had on the architectures of our painter. There are some attributional perplexities for certain works, historically given to Panini or Ghisolfi, which could instead be returned to Carlieri or vice versa. At the center of an attributional dispute is the Capriccio with the sermon of an apostle kept as Panini autograph at the Christian Museum of Esztergom in Hungary but which was also attributed to Ghisolfi or to Carlieri himself, as Sestieri proposes. Certainly our painter, especially in the vertically developed canvases, proposes numerous elements taken from the "Esztergom composition", as this compositional module is defined in all its variations. These are compositions in which the large architectures are fragmentary; picturesque greenery partially covers them; architectural remains are piled on the ground; there is always an architectural detail with the trabeation of the interrupted colonnade; the perspective has a lateral escape with respect to the composition; a scene depicting the sermon of Christ or a saint is often set. Carlieri exploits this compositional scheme with assiduity. We can partly find it also in the painting in question although it is developed horizontally. In these paintings, and in general in the works of this artist, there are often some figures or objects that the author likes to insert with some small variations. Among these there is the classical era stone vase with female figures in bas-relief. Likewise, the half-lying character who supports himself with one arm on the ground. This detail, very frequent and depicted also in a specular way, can almost be considered a signature of Carlieri. The author depicts several times the sermon of an apostle. As Sestieri emphasizes, the subjects must have guided the commissions of Carlieri. For some therefore smiled more success, according to their numerous versions, such as the "Parables" or the "Sermons" of Christ or Apostles. In the present study (see attached expertise) some of the most significant examples have been compared. Carlotta Venegoni