NAPLES, MID-18TH CENTURY

For an expanded description of the importance and position of the 'Courtesan' or 'Georgina' figure in a presepio as prominent members of the Magi's train, see A. Griffo, Ibid, pp. 72-77. The present figure of the 'Grand Courtesan' can be grouped with the figure of la bella Georgina in the Presepio Cuciniello, now housed in the Museo di San Martino, Naples (illustrated R. Causa, 'Napoli di Galilea', FMR, December 1982, p. 84-85, fig. 3).

The figure of the fisherman can be associated with the circle of Giuseppe Sanmartino, especially for the wildly blowing hair and hyper-realistic expression of mystified uncertainty.