(Castellammare di Stabia 1707–1789 Naples)
Portrait of Niccolò Maria Caracciolo, Duke of San Vito; and Portrait of Maria Felicia Cavaniglia, Duchess of San Vito,
inscribed: DUCA DI S.TO VITO NICOLA CARACCIOLO and DUCHESSA DI S.TO VITO NATA CAVANIGLIA,
oil on canvas, both oval, 102.8 x 74.1 and 101.5 x 75.5 cm, unframed(2)

We are grateful to Riccardo Lattuada for confirming the attribution after examining the paintings in the original, and for his help in cataloguing the present lot.

Two cartouches depicted at the bottom of the oval canvases, with inscriptions identify the sitters portrayed as the Duke of San Vito, Niccolò Maria Caracciolo (Naples 1725–1802), and the Duchess, Maria Felicia Cavaniglia (Naples 1729-1795). Niccolò Maria, depicted in armor, was the second Duke of San Vito before he became the Marquis of Grumo and Knight of the Ordine di San Gennaro. His wife Maria Felicia, depicted with a dog, a King Charles Cavalier Spaniel, was one of the last members of the Cabanilla’s, an old noble family that came to Naples from Spain following King Alfonso V of Aragon. This pendant was probably executed soon after the marriage, celebrating the newlyweds. It shows an accurate reflection of the contemporary society of the portrayed.

The portrait of the Duchess of San Vito reveals strong similarities with one of the most celebrated works by the artist, Portrait of a Lady in the Galleria Nazionale di Arte Antica, Rome (see N. Spinosa, Pittura napoletana del Settecento dal Barocco al Rococò, Napoli 1986, p. 170, fig. 298, pp. 148-149, figg. 69-70).

Bonito originally studied under Francesco Solimena, initially painting religious subjects. He soon developed a reputation as a well-respected portraitist and in 1751, Bonito became the official court painter in Naples, in 1752, he was appointed a membership at the Accademia di San Luca, and was elected to be the director of the academy of drawing, composition and tapestry manufacture in 1755.