(active in Naples circa 1630–1660)
The Schoolteacher (or the boys’ school),
oil on canvas, 101.5 x 128 cm, framed

Provenance:
European Private Collection

We are grateful to Riccardo Lattuada for confirming the attribution after examining the painting in the original.

The figures in the present painting can be directly compared with those in paintings by Juan Do, a painter from Jativa (Valencia). On the basis of the reconstruction effected by Giuseppe De Vito, Juan Do can be identified with the artist also known as the Master of the Annunciation to the Shepherds (see De Vito’s various contributions in: Ricerche sul ‘600 napoletano, 1996-97; 2003-2004; 2008; 2009; 2010-2011; and in: Ricerche sull’arte a Napoli in età moderna, 2012-2013).

The subject of a boys´ school recurs in European painting from the end of the 16th century. In this present work, the head of the teacher, seen in profile, is based on the head of the shepherd in the Adoration of the Shepherds by Juan Do in Geneva, Neapolis collection, and formerly with the Walpole Gallery, London (see N. Spinosa, Pittura del Seicento a Napoli da Caravaggio a Massimo Stanzione, Naples, 2010, p. 328, no. 287). The figure of the smiling boy in the background, who curiously seems to echo the “amusing” inventions of Sofonisba Anguissola, can be compared to his companion in the Adoration of the Shepherds, correctly attributed to Do, formerly in Genoa (sale Cambi, 15 April 2014, lot 62, where it was offered at auction with another picture by Do, a Rest on the Flight into Egypt, lot 63). Similar smiling children also appear in the Adoration of the Magi, in a private collection (see N. Spinosa ibid., 2010, pp. 330-331, no. 291).

Stylistically, the two paintings at Cambi, as well as the work in a private collection, all seem to date after the period when Do was working more closely in the manner of Ribera (1620-30). The present picture also seems to fit into the later style of Do’s production, in what appears to have been his mature period, as substantiated by the choice of bright green tones for the teacher’s clothes. The execution of the teacher’s garments and of the boy bent over his paper show some affinities in approach with the early works of Luca Giordano, also inspired by Ribera.

We are grateful to Riccardo Lattuada for his assistance in cataloguing this lot.