Andrea Vaccaro - Saint Martha rebukes Mary Magdalene for her vanity ca. 1640 - 50 - oil on canvas 96 x 128 cm The canvas depicts the Gospel episode in which Saint Martha rebukes Mary Magdalene for her vanity. The two female figures, half-length and almost life-size, are caught in an intense moral dialogue: Martha, wrapped in a broad brown mantle, raises her index finger in an admonitory gesture, while Magdalene, wearing a sumptuous dress and precious ornaments, seems to yield to the rebuke while maintaining an attitude of composed elegance. At the bottom are jewels and pearls, symbols of the transience of earthly riches.The work shows the typical characteristics of the painting of Andrea Vaccaro, one of the protagonists of the Neapolitan Baroque: the calibrated chiaroscuro of Caravaggio's influence is softened by a sense of classicist grace, while the softness of the flesh and the care of the drapery highlight his ability to combine naturalism and academic decorum. The scene, rendered with intense theatricality but devoid of dramatic excess, reflects the meditative and moralising language that made Vaccaro so popular with religious and private patrons.The painting was recognised and published in Mariaclaudia Izzo's book 'Nicola Vaccaro (1640-1709). Un artista a Napoli tra Barocco e Arcadia'. I percorsi di Andrea Vaccaro (1604-1670), edited by Riccardo Lattuada, where it appears on p. 94, fig. 94. The publication and Prof. Lattuada's authoritative confirmation place the work in Andrea Vaccaro's certain catalogue, helping to clarify the evolution of his production on devotional subjects.In a coeval wooden frame.Bibliography :M. Izzo, Nicola Vaccaro (1640-1709). Un artista a Napoli tra Barocco e Arcadia. I percorsi di Andrea Vaccaro (1604-1670), edited by R. Lattuada, Naples, 2021, p. 94, fig. 94.Provenance:Formerly New York, antiques market, 1974Private collection in Rome