Sebastiano Conca Also Called "il Cavaliere". (1680-1764) Signed And Dated 1764

Sebastiano Conca also called "Il Cavaliere". (* 8. January 1680 in Gaeta; † 1. September 1764 in Naples) Madonna with the child Jesus Madonna del latte Oil on canvas 46 x 58 cm (image size) Signed and dated on the right Sebastiano Conca 1764 Cf: Dorotheum, Vienna, 24.4.2007, n° 457, €23,750; Christie's, London, 9.12.2005, n° 212, €28,371; Bonhams, London, 6.7.2005, n° 13, 33.150 Important late work by the master of elegant refinement in coloring as well as in the use of light. Sebastiano Conca was the eldest of ten children of merchant and tax tenant Erasmo Conca and his wife Caterina de Lorio. At a very young age, his father sent him to the workshop of Francesco Solimena (1657-1747) in Naples. In 1702, Conca accompanied his master to Montecassino. During his apprenticeship, he adopted Solimena's very contrasting painting style. In 1706, Conca went to Rome with his brother Giovanni Conca and founded his own fresco and panel painting workshop, developing his painting style in the direction of a classicist late Baroque. This style of art, also known as Roman classicism, had developed as a counter-movement to Rococo, which was seen as frivolous, and the rediscovery of Roman antiquity had brought an artistic aesthetic into the conversation classically oriented. In 1710 he founded the "Accademia del Nudo", which welcomed many students from all over Europe, who in turn spread the classical approach throughout the continent. In 1719, Conca became a member of the Accademia di San Luca and was twice elected Princeps. One of his first patrons was the Principe della Torrella and Cardinal Pietro Ottoboni, who, among many other positions, was archpriest of the Lateran Basilica. Through Ottoboni's intercession, Conca was commissioned by Pope Clement XI to paint frescoes at San Giovanni in Laterano and San Clemente. As a reward, he was knighted by the Pope and given a diamond-studded cross. His studio became the great hall of Palazzo Farnese, which was given to him by the Duke of Parma. During this early period he also worked with Carlo Maratta at the Santa Cecilia in Trastevere, and in 1718, alone in Genoa, at the Palazzo Lomellini-Doria. In 1721-1725, he was called to Turin to the House of Savoy, where he created frescoes and oil paintings in different churches and in the royal palace. Later, he received orders from Philip V (Spain), the kings of Poland, Portugal and Sardinia, and the archbishop of Cologne. In 1731 a commission followed to Siena to paint the apse of the Santissima Annunziata. The commission fulfilled the last will and testament of Ugolino Billo, former rector of the Santa Maria della Scala in Siena. In 1739 he wrote a book called Ammonimenti ("Admonitions"), a sort of moral guide for aspiring artists. Finally, in 1751, he returned to Naples, where he turned forcefully to illusionist painting in the style of Luca Giordano. Inv.no.3,803 €7,400