Salvatore Monosilio

(1715 - 1776)

Attributed to

oil painting on canvas in a non-contemporary frame, with attached declaration of attribution by Maurizio Marini. & nbsp;

Provenance: private collection.

This large canvas depicting St. Francis Borgia in preaching, was attributed already in the 90s of the last century by Prof. Maurizio Marini to the little-known messinese painter Salvatore Monosilio, one of Sebastiano Conca's most appreciated students. Originally from Messina, Monosilio soon moved to Rome, where on the reverberation of the fame of the master, he obtained the first prestigious commissions from the Roman Curia. From 1744 it became part of the Congregation of the Virtuosos of the Pantheon and in 1762 it became a member of the Accademia di San Luca. Appointed Superintendent of the Pontifical Studio of Mosaic, directing the major restoration works of the mosaics of St. Paul Outside the Walls, and the mosaic decoration of the Gregorian Chapel at St. Peter's in the Vatican, Monosilio also obtained important commissions outside the city, painting in Vicovaro, Messina , Catania and Macerata, excelling in both fresco and oil painting.

This impressive large-scale work, from a Roman private collection, it constitutes a rare representation of the Jesuit saint, a hieratic and austere portrait characterized by a solemn composure. Inserted in a standing niche with the chair behind him, he is accompanied on the left by two putti playing with the episcopal insignia. One of the two little angels seems deliberately characterized by indigenous somatic traits, as a self-biographical reference to the Jesuit missions in Peru and Florida founded by Francesco Borgia in 1565. The position of the hand with the finger upwards, in fact eloquently indicates the preaching of divine word and the mission of evangelization.

State of preservation: good, restored and relined work.