9
Luca Giordano (Napoli, 1634 - Napoli , 1705)and workshop
Allegory of Faith, Hope and Charity, Second half of the 17th century
oil on canvas
h 169.5x151 cm in frame h 190.5x172.5 cm
Work relined and restored with striped interventions.
The work is a workshop copy of a painting by Giordano, believed to be by Giordano, held at the Ringling Museum of Art in Saratosa, Florida. Unlike the prototype, despite its size, the work is slightly smaller and has a vertical rectangular format. (The Saratosa "Allegory" is square, likely because it was conceived as a companion piece to a second painting—the "Allegory of Magnanimity" held at the Getty Museum—which has a mirror image.) The scansion of the figures, the depiction of detail, and the high pictorial quality are perfectly preserved.
The work is a workshop copy of a painting by Giordano, believed to be by Giordano, held at the Ringling Museum of Art in Saratosa, Florida. Unlike the prototype, despite its size, the work is slightly smaller and has a vertical rectangular format. (The Saratosa "Allegory" is square, likely because it was conceived as a companion piece to a second painting—the "Allegory of Magnanimity" held at the Getty Museum—which has a mirror image.) The scansion of the figures, the depiction of detail, and the high pictorial quality are perfectly preserved.
From an iconographic point of view, the same interpretative difficulties arise: the work is often referred to as the “Allegory of Sacred and Profane Love,” but a reading by Edgar Wind defines it as the “Allegory of Faith, Hope, and Charity,” which certainly appears more correct.
Bibliography:
Oreste Ferrari, Giuseppe Scavizzi, “Luca Giordano: The Complete Works,” Vol. I, Electa Naples, 2000, entry A243