FRANCESCO DE MURA
NAPLES 1696 – NAPLES 1782
BATHSHEBA AT HER BATH

FRANCESCO DE MURA

DETAIL OF ‘BATHSHEBA AT HER BATH”

Fantastic depiction of King David spying a view of Bathsheba’s bath. The composition, after Francesco Solimena’s richly Baroque oil painting of the same title (below), faithfully illustrates the biblical theme. Wonderful details include an urn depicting a goat’s face with garland; a bronze bath basin and ewer lying on its side next to it. A dog sits in a corner; a parrot rests on the stone balustrade adjacent classical columns. Purchased during a European art and antiquities buying trip with Smith’s friend, Isabella Stewart Gardner. We are grateful to Professor Viviana Farina for her attribution to “pupil(s) working in Francesco Solimena’s studio” most likely the atelier of Francesco De Mura.

Provenance: the Estate of Joseph Lindon Smith, founder of the progressive Dublin Lake Art Colony, NH.

Materials

Brown pen and ink with blue wash on laid paper. Good contrast of blue wash on heavy watermark paper. Small paper tear where stain was removed when paper was conserved, will not show when glazed.

DIMENSIONS: 46 cm × 35.2 cm (18 1/10″ × 13 9/10″)

PRICE: $10,500.00

FRANCESCO SOLIMENA