Corrado GIAQUINTO Molfetta, 1703 - Naples, 1765 Judith and Holofernes Oil on canvas Judith and Holofernes, oil on canvas, by C. Giaquinto 64,50 x 49 cm (25,39 x 19,29 in.) Provenance: Collection of Maître Bernard Gouy in Lyon ; Pierre Montheillet, Lyon ; Acquired from the latter by the current owner in 1978; Private collection, Rhône-Alpes Comment: This painting of Judith and Holofernes by Corrado Giaquinto is probably the prototype of a composition of which several replicas by collaborators and copyists are known. Mario d'Orsi, in his 1958 monograph, mentions two other versions of this work: one in the R. Montagna collection in Rome and the other, owned by the International College of Augustinians in Rome, which was then sent to Spain1. Another mention of this composition appears in a catalogue of private collections in New York, which lists the work in the collection of Mr and Mrs Milon J. Lewine in the 1970s2. The Musée des Ursulines in Mâcon has another replica, acquired on the Paris market in 19783. The painting we are presenting here stands out from the known versions for its remarkable quality of execution. Nicola Spinosa, like Mario d'Orsi in his monograph, dates this work from the very early 1730s. The painter, originally from Molfetta, trained with Nicola Maria Rossi, a disciple of Francesco Solimena, in Naples in the 1720s, before moving to Rome in 1727. Our painting dates from this early Roman period. By focusing his attention on the draperies and fabrics that play a dramatic role here, and on the complexions, which are sublimated by a skilful play of light, Corrado Giaquinto shows that he has learnt his lesson from the Neapolitan painter Francesco Solimena, whose works played a decisive role in his conception of painting. 1. Mario d'Orsi, 'Corrado Giaquinto', Rome, 1958, p. 24-25, fig. 3 (repr. version in the R. Montagna collection) 2. Jacob Bean, Felice Stampfle, 'The Eighteenth Century in Italy', New York, 1971, p. 331 (Oil sketches by 18th Century Italian Artists from New York Collection). 3. Pierre Rosenberg, Arnauld Brejon de Lavergnée, "Corrado Giaquinto et la France", in 'Corrado Giaquinto (1703 - 1766)', proceedings of the international symposium in Molfetta, 19-20 December 1981, Molfetta, 1985, p. 84, no. 16, see also Michela Scolaro (ed.), 'Corrado Giaquinto, Il cielo e la terra', cat. exp, Cesena, Biblioteca Malatestiana - Palazzo Romagnoli, 2005-2006, mentioned pp. 166-167, pl. 1. We would like to thank Professor Nicola Spinosa for kindly confirming the attribution of this painting, based on a photograph dated 23 January 2024, and for his help in drafting this notice.