(Comunanza 1660–1738)
A young man playing the lute,
oil on canvas, 96.5 x 73 cm, framed

Provenance:
Sestieri collection, Rome;
sale, Christie’s, Rome, 19 November 1990, lot 67 (as Antonio Mercurio Amorosi);
where acquired by the present owner

Literature:
G. Sestieri, Repertorio della pittura romana della fine del Seicento e del Settecento, Rome 1994, vol. I, p. 15, illustrated vol. II, fig. 15 (as Antonio Mercurio Amorosi);
C. Maggini, Antonio Mercurio Amorosi. Pittore (1660–1738), Rimini 1996, p. 170, cat. no. 82, illustrated p. 172 (as Antonio Mercurio Amorosi)

The present painting is registered in the Fototeca Zeri under no. 61246 (as Antonio Mercurio Amorosi).

Antonio Mercurio Amorosi was active in Rome in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth century. His mature work, such as the present painting, is characterised by simplicity and intense naturalism, and was highly demanded by collectors. The young player sits in pose in front of the viewer, taking up the entire space and, with great realism, standing out from a dark background with a hint of landscape on the right. The artist's attention lingers on the finely detailed dress and the hands that harp on the strings of the lute.

Amorosi trained in Rome in the studio of Giuseppe Ghezzi (1636–1721). He produced portraits and religious works, but is mostly known for his genre paintings, influenced by late Baroque style and the bambocciate. His paintings reveal an interest in the depiction of everyday life and ordinary people, particularly the childhood, depicted in an intimate manner. Amorosi's work reveals the influence of Bernhard Keil, known as Monsù Bernardo (1624–1687). His genre paintings are predominantly in a small format and the present large format for this pictorial type is unusual.