Tritons defending Nereids. Oil on glass (reverse). Possibly Italian school (perhaps Naples), towards the end of the 16th-17th century. A framed glass panel with a painting, most likely oil, beneath it, depicting a landscape in the background and a series of figures in the foreground, from the waist up. A man is holding two women on the right, while on the left, two semi-nude male figures appear to be attacking a sea monster (very similar to those inspired by ancient Roman works, common in painting since the Renaissance). It is necessary to first distinguish between two painting techniques that employ glass: one that uses it as a base, like canvas, and another in which the glass is placed "on top" of the paint, which is applied "beneath" and in reverse. This work belongs to the second method, highly valued in cabinetmaking for decorating chests, wastepaper baskets, etc., and for its resemblance to enamels. It should also be remembered that glass painting was especially prized by the upper class between the late 17th and early 18th centuries. Ferdinand de' Medici, for example, included some glass paintings by Luca Giordano in his collection in 1702. Followers of this master specialized during these years in decorating important furniture with under-glass painting. In 1679, for instance, Giovanni Battista Tara was paid for creating "a pair of ebony scribes inlaid with different paintings on glass," while Carlo Garofalo, a pupil of Luca Giordano and considered the best glass painter active in Naples in the second half of the 17th century, was summoned by Charles II of Spain to paint glass for chests and other decorations in prominent royal halls; again, Domenico Coscia is mentioned in documents as a painter "who made very good glass pieces, which were used for scribes." The list of Neapolitan painters who were disciples of Giordano, remembered for their painting activity on glass, can also be enriched with many other names, such as Domenico Perrone, Francesco della Torre, or Andrea Vincenti.
· Size: 41,5x2,5x18 cms. int: 8x32 cms.
ANTIQUES
PAINTINGS
Ref.: ZF1420
