Lot 185: Antonio Maria Vassallo , Genoa circa 1620 - circa 1664/72 Milan The Flagellation of Christ oil on canvas

signed with monogram lower left: AMV (in compendium) oil on canvas

measurements note 145 by 121.5 cm.; 57 by 47 7/8 in.

In the collection of the family of the present owner since at least the 18th century.

PROPERTY FROM A PRINCELY EUROPEAN FAMILY
This hitherto unknown and unpublished work by Vassallo is an exciting addition to his oeuvre and should be compared to the Flora with three Putti, listed by Orlando as in the Collection Viganò, Milan,υ1 where nearly the same pose used here for Christ, is used for Flora. The compact nature to the monogram appears on several of Vassallo's paintings, for example in Ceres bestowing her gifts on the Earth.υ2 Genoese painting during the 17υth century was deeply influenced by Northern artists; as a cosmopolitan trading city it had attracted visits from both Sir Peter Paul Rubens in 1605-6 and Sir Anthony Van Dyck in 1621-22, as well as several other Flemings including Pieter Boel and Lucas and Cornelis de Wael, and the Flemish style was soon to be adopted and developed by native artists such as Giovanni Bernardo Carbone and Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione. Vassallo was born into a wealthy family, and so started his training with the Flemish painter Vicente Malo, and through this training he was to become well acquainted with the dominant taste in the city; indeed, the influence of Rubens and Van Dyck cast a strong shadow over the religious works by Vassallo, an influence clearly felt in this Flagellation. 1. A. Orlando, Anton Maria Vassallo, Genoa 2004, pp. 23-4, reproduced 23.
2. ibid, pp. 112-3, cat. no. I.27, reproduced.