(Castellammare di Stabia 1707–1789 Naples)
Portrait of Niccolo Maria Caracciolo, Duke of San Vito; and Portrait of Maria Felicia Cavaniglia, Duchess of San Vito, inscribed: DUCA DI S. TO VITO NICOLA CARACACCIOLO and DUCHESSA DI S. TO VITO NATA CAVANIGLIA,
oil on canvas, both ovals, 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 are depicted at the bottom of the oval canvases, with inscriptions identifying the sitters as the Duke of San Vito, Niccolò Maria Caracciolo (Naples 1725–1802) and 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 here with a dog, a King Charles Cavalier Spaniel, was one of the last members of the Cabanilla, an old noble family that had come to Naples from Spain following King Alfonso V of Aragon. This pendant was probably executed soon after their marriage and meant to celebrate the newlyweds. The painting accurately reflects the contemporary society of the sitters.

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, Naples 1986, p. 170, fig. 298, pp. 148–49, figs. 69–70).

Bonito originally studied under Francesco Solimena, initially painting religious subjects. He soon acquired a reputation as a well-respected portraitist. In 1751, Bonito became the official court painter in Naples; in 1752 he was admitted as a member to the Accademia di San Luca and in 1755 was elected director of the Academy of Drawing, Composition and Tapestry.