Francesco Solimena's 2.3-Meter Model for Naples Fresco Heads to Tajan Auction

Tajan will auction a monumental 2.3-meter preparatory model by Francesco Solimena (1657–1747) on June 22, 2022, in Paris. The work was created for his 14 x 5 meter fresco on the ceiling of the sacristy of San Domenico Maggiore in Naples, executed between 1705 and 1706. This model is considered a pivotal piece that marked the transition from Baroque to Rococo in Naples, influencing monumental decoration across Europe. Hidden for over a century in a house in Burgundy, it was rediscovered by Gabinetto Turquin. The model was first published in Nicola Spinosa's 2017 catalogue raisonné of Solimena. Thaddée Prate, director of Old Master Paintings and Drawings at Tajan, describes the work as embodying Rococo through gracefully rotating angels, surprising foreshortening, upward movement amid clouds, and a swirling composition. The estimate is €500,000–700,000. Solimena, also known as Abate Ciccio, was an Italian painter and architect active in Naples who received commissions from German courts, Louis XIV, Philip V of Spain, and Charles VI of Vienna. The fresco allegorizes the power of the Dominican order within the Catholic Church. Solimena's mastery is evident in his use of light effects, dynamic figures, and realistic, expressive faces, as seen in his depictions of San Gaetano and San Gennaro.