Stefano Pozzi (Rome 1699-1768)
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Stefano Pozzi (Rome 1699-1768)

The penitent Magdalen

Details
Stefano Pozzi (Rome 1699-1768)
The penitent Magdalen
oil on copper
19¾ x 13½ in. (50 x 34.3 cm.)
Provenance
Anon. sale, Christie's, London, 19 June 1953, lot 105, as 'Spanish School'.
Special notice
No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 17.5% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis.
Sale room notice
Please note that this lot should be STARRED for VAT at 5

Lot Essay

We are grateful to Giancarlo Sestieri for the attribution after examining the painting in the original.

The eldest son of an ivory carver in Rome, Pozzi trained under Andrea Procaccini until 1720, and then of Agostino Masucci. By 1732 he was admitted to the Congregazione dei Virtuosi al Pantheon, and by 1736 the Accademia di S. Luca. After going to Naples at the behest of Cardinal Spinelli, he worked on the interiors of some of Luigi Vanvitelli's buildings. Afterwards he worked mainly for the Papacy back in Rome, with Benedict XIV asking him to both decorate the new buildings of the Accedemia del Nudo and also to become it's first director. In 1758 Pope Clement XIII appointed Pozzi to succeed Agostino Masucci to the post of Custode delle Pitture di Raffaello. Amongst his many works for the Vatican, Pozzi took over from Daniele da Volterra's work in covering up the nudity in Michelangelo's fresco of the Last Judgement in the Sistine Chapel.

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