Neapolitan painter active in the 18th century, Saint Nicholas and the miracle of the brick, oil on canvas

Neapolitan painter active in the 18th century, Saint Nicholas and the miracle of the brick Oil on canvas; cm H 136 x W 109 x D 10. Frame cm H 100 x W 74 Price: private negotiation Object accompanied by our certificate of authenticity The painting, made in oil on canvas and presented inside a molded, lacquered and gilded wooden frame in the seventeenth-century style, depicts Saint Nicholas participating in the Council of Nicaea and defending the dogma of consubstantiality through the miracle of the brick. The subject is rarely treated in painting and refers to the presumed presence of Saint Nicholas of Myra (now Bari) at the Council of Nicaea in 325 in the presence of Emperor Constantine. According to tradition, during the council Saint Nicholas harshly condemned Arianism, defending orthodoxy and causing a miracle to occur. Emperor Constantine I had wanted the first ecumenical council of the Christian world, concerned about internal religious disagreements that arose with the spread of the doctrine of the priest Arius of Alexandria in Egypt, which excluded the divinity of Jesus, arguing that only the Father is truly God, while the Son is not eternal, was born in time: before being created by the Father he did not exist. The bishops of the empire took part in the council, and the participation of Saint Nicholas is also hypothesized, considering the short distance between Myra and Nicaea and the fame he already enjoyed. In his "Historia di S. Nicolò" (Naples 1620) the historian and theologian Antonio Beatillo reports that to put an end to the discord over the nature of the Trinity, Nicholas took a brick in his hand and explained that earth, water and fire make it up: but this does not contradict the fact that the brick exists as a brick. The same was to be understood for Father, Son and Holy Spirit, fused in the Trinity. At the same time the miracle occurred: from the brick "a flame sparkled that rose to the sky, water gushed to the ground, the clay remaining in his hands". The painting exactly describes the miraculous moment from which, from the brick supported by Saint Nicholas, and placed in the center of the composition, the fire is lit above and water gushes towards the ground. Around, the other bishops are surprised, identifiable by the miters they wear on their heads, and other religious and philosophers. On the right, in a raised position on an architectural element carved in low relief, sits Constantine, who reacts with amazement to the miracle, indicating the brick with his left arm. The scene takes place inside a building with fluted columns and a canopy on which a voluminous drapery wraps around to underline the importance of the throne. The painting, of beautiful artistic quality, is the work of a painter active in Naples in the 18th century, as suggested by the analysis of the style with which the composition is resolved and the expressiveness of the characters. The work, in addition to being significant for the rare subject and of historical-theological value, is equally decorative also thanks to the use of a lively and well-balanced color palette.