Ludovico David received his early training in Milan, firstly with Francesco del Cairo, who died in 1665, and then with Ercole Procaccini II. He left Milan in 1667 for Venice and, excepting a trip to Bologna where he received instruction from Carlo Cignani, he stayed until 1684. In 1685 he is recorded in Parma, moving the following year to Rome where he lived for the remainder of his life.

Though most of his paintings are now lost, two letters from David of 1691 and 1704 give fullsome detail of his life and work to this time. The present work, datable to his later Roman years, reveals the dual influences of Carlo Maratta and Carlo Cignani, coupling late Roman classicism with the more sensuous plasticity of the earlier Bolognese artists, and still showing the liking for dramatic lighting and chiaroscuro inherited from Francesco del Cairo and the Milanese tradition.

We are grateful to Dr. Mauro Natale for confirming the attribution in a letter dated March 31, 1995.

Sold with a photocertificate from Professor William Suida dated January 1942 as by Simon Vouet.