Madonna and Child in the Glory of the Saints

Francesco Solimena was first a pupil of his father, Angelo Solimeno, and later came under the influence of Giovanni Lanfranco as well as Mattia Preti and Luca Giordano. With the aid of this Bremen sketch, he prepared the altarpiece painting for the church of San Gaudioso in Naples. This church was destroyed by fire in 1799, but is well documented in the description in Bernardo de Dominici’s Vite de’ pittori, scultori ed architetti napoletani. According to this account—and in keeping with the oil sketch—in the upper half of the painting, the Madonna was enthroned on the clouds with the Christ Child and surrounded by putti. To her left, she was flanked by the Archangel Michael, and to her right, by John the Baptist, sitting on a cloud before Peter and Paul. In the lower half of the painting, in the left foreground, Gaudioso, Bishop of Abitina, could be seen. Behind him stood the Apostle Stephen with his book and the attribute of the stone, signifying his martyrdom. Behind him, the Abbot Benedict and his sister Scholastica were engrossed in conversation. The figure next to them with his back to us is Januarius (San Gennaro), the patron saint of Naples, who offers the Madonna a sacrifice of his own blood. Dominici’s description also mentions Rosa of Lima, portrayed here at the right, enwreathed in roses. In the front stand Gaudioso, Bishop of Salerno, and, next to the lion, Fortunata. Her brother Priscianus kneels in the foreground. Domenici identifies the two remaining persons as Fortunata’s brothers Carponio and Evarista.