Luca GIORDANO (1634 – 1705) The Judgement of Solomon, circa 1670

Luca GIORDANO (Naples 1634 – 1705)
The Judgement of Solomon, circa 1670

Oil on canvas
38 × 48 cm

Collection stamp on the reverse depicting a Roman intaglio. The same mark appears on the reverse of Vue du guichet du Louvre vers le collège des Quatre-Nations, now in the collection of the Musée du Louvre (inv. RF 1950 34).

This previously unpublished composition depicts one of the most dramatic episodes of the Old Testament: the Judgement of Solomon. Giordano captures the climactic moment in which the true mother renounces her child in order to save his life.

Painted around 1670, at the height of the artist’s maturity, the work perfectly reflects the stylistic transformation Giordano underwent following his stays in Rome and especially Venice. The theatrical arrangement of the figures, the rich chromatic contrasts and the fluid, energetic brushwork reveal the profound influence of Venetian painting, particularly Veronese, while preserving the dramatic intensity inherited from Neapolitan Caravaggism.

The painting displays the dazzling virtuosity for which Giordano was celebrated throughout Europe. The lively handling of paint, compact yet animated composition and remarkable narrative tension strongly suggest, as proposed by the eminent scholar Nicola Spinosa, that this work may have served as a highly finished preparatory modello for a larger composition.

A reversed copy of the composition is recorded in the photographic archives of the Fondazione Federico Zeri.

We are grateful to Nicola Spinosa for confirming the attribution to Luca Giordano.