FRANÇOIS DE NOMÉ, called MONSÙ DESIDERIO (Metz c. 1593-1637 Rome)

An architectural capriccio with the martyrdom of Saint Agatha

Details

FRANÇOIS DE NOMÉ, called MONSÙ DESIDERIO (Metz c. 1593-1637 Rome)
An architectural capriccio with the martyrdom of Saint Agatha
oil on canvas
28¼ x 38½ in. (71.7 x 97.7 cm.)

Provenance

Charles Roseman, Cleveland, Ohio.
with Frederick Mont, New York.
Dott. Mondolfo, Rome; his sale, Christie's, Rome, 26 January 1978, lot 18.

Literature

F. Sluys, Didier Barra et François De Nomé dit Monsù Desiderio, Paris, 1961, p. 82, no. 51.
M.R. Nappi, François De Nomé et Didier Barra, l'enigma Monsù Desiderio, Milan, 1991, p. 45, no. A2 and p. 47, as location unknown.

Exhibited

Sarasota, The Ringling Museum of Fine Arts, The Fantastic visions of Monsù Desiderio at the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Fine Arts, 1950, p. 17, no. 6 , fig. 2.
Dallas, Dallas Museum for Contemporary Arts, The Art that broke the Looking Glass, 14 November-31 December 1961.

Lot Essay

Considered by Nappi (op. cit., p. 47) to be of 'grandissima importanza' and among 'le opere giovanili più felici del pittore', the present work is one of pair of paintings depicting the martyrdoms of female saints that had remained together until 1978 (see provenance). Commenting on the high quality of the staffage, Nappi (ibid.) notes the influence of Adam Elsheimer and has tentatively suggested the hand of Jakob Ernst Thomann Hagelstein (1588-1633) in this regard.

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