The penitent Saint Peter

Francesco Fracanzano moved with his brother, Cesare, from Apulia to Naples in 1622 where both entered the workshop of Ribera. Apart from his marriage to Salvator Rosa's sister Giovanna in 1632, little is known about the artist's life. Amongst his early works are the two scenes from the life of Saint Gregory of Armenia that Francesco painted in 1635, Saint Gregory of Armenia thrown into the Well and the Miracle of Saint Gregory of Armenia (Church of San Gregorio Armeno, Naples). These pictures, with powerful, dramatic figures set against stormy skies, are key works in the development of Neapolitan painting in the 1630s. Both those two pictures and the present Saint Peter show the profound impact Ribera's realism had on Fracanzano's work. The rich impasto in the beard of the saint and the highlights on his forehead, are typical features of the Neapolitan painterly tradition.

Francesco Fracanzano's Head of an Apostle in the Museo Nazionale di Capodimonte, Naples, is very similar to the head of the Saint in this picture. The softer, freer handling of the latter suggests that the Apostle in the Capodimonte picture may have been based on the present work (see N. Spinosa, La pittura napoletana del'600, Milan, 1984, no. 395, illustrated). Another treatment of the subject, attributed to Francesco Fracanzano by Dr. B. Aikema, is in the church of San Zaccaria, Venice (see B. Aikema in Paragone, XLVIII, no. 565, March 1997, illustrated).