LUCA GIORDANO (Naples, 1634-1705) SOLOMON SACRIFICING TO IDOLS Canvas Signed on the right "Jordanus. F." Old restorations Solomon sacrificing to idols, canvas, signed on the right, with restorations Dimensions without frame : 164 x 207 CM - 64,5 x 81,4 IN. Dimensions with frame : 188 x 229 CM - 74 x 90,1 IN. PROVENANCE Manuel Maria de Allendesalazar Loyzaga (1814-1891) ; Then by descent to this day. The third Count of Montefuerte, landowner in the Basque country and Spanish politician, Manuel Maria de Allende Salazar Loyzaga became a senator for life in 1851. A politician affiliated to the moderate liberal party, in 1852 he was appointed Gentleman of the Royal Chamber and Commissioner for Vizcaya in Madrid. He owned a dozen works by Luca Giordano; BIBLIOGRAPHY A. Zigorraga, Diccionario biografico de los Diputados Generales, burocratas y patricios de Bizkaia (1800-1876), Bilbao, 1995, p. 82 (unverified). In terms of its subject, size, signature and provenance, our painting is probably the counterpart to David and the Prophet Gad (canvas, 164 x 207 cm, now in Auckland Castle Museum. See O. Ferrari and G. Scavizzi, Luca Giordano, Naples, 1992, no. A372, reproduced in fig. 481), painted around 1685. This was before Giordano left for Madrid, to work at the court of Charles II of Spain, where he painted frescoes at El Escorial, Toledo Cathedral and the Cason del Buen Retiro. After a period influenced by José de Ribera in his youth, in 1652 he travelled to Rome, Florence and Venice, where he assimilated the art of Pietro da Cortona, Titian and Veronese. In the 1660s and 1670s, he combined Tenebrist, Venetian and Rubensian styles, winning the support of great patrons and leading him to decorate the Medici Riccardi palace (1685) in Florence. Renowned for his speed of execution and colourful Baroque style, he influenced many 18th-century artists. The subject of our painting is taken from the first Book of Kings in the Bible. In his old age, King Solomon turned away from God's commandments, incited by his wives and concubines to sacrifice to oriental idols.