(Casale Monferrato 1698–1757 Milan)
A Saint reading,
oil on canvas, 94 x 73.5 cm, framed

Provenance:
Private European collection

Exhibited:
Torre Canavese, Galleria d’Arte Datrino, Pietro Francesco Guala. Una presenza europea tra le colline del Monferrato, 20 April – 8 June 2008, no. 54 (as Pietro Francesco Guala)

Literature:
S. Marinotti (ed.), Pietro Francesco Guala. Una presenza europea tra le colline del Monferrato, Turin et al. 2008, exhibition catalogue, no. 54 (as Pietro Francesco Guala)

Born in Casale Monferrato, Piedmont, Pietro Francesco Guala broke from local pictorial tradition and developed his own pictorial language, utilising a progressive lightening of colour palette whilst modeling physiognomy and drapery with broad, voluminous folds, becoming a stylistic feature that was to reflect the artist’s mature manner.

A particularly noteworthy feature of the artist’s numerous busts of saints, prophets and philosophers is this distinctive characteristic of merging pictorial representation with a feeling of religious tenderness. Guala depicts saints and philosophers as first and foremost individuals with definable characteristics and features. In the case of the present painting Guala’s artistic ability is evident in the capturing of the saint’s concentration, the serene look with which his gaze rests on the text conveying divine contemplation.