Pietro Paolini, 1603 Lucca – 1681, zug.
BEARY AGE THAT TEST A SAIL FOR A LOUD SOUND
Oil on canvas in oval.
73 x 61 cm.
In old gilded oval frame.

Expert opinion in copy by Dr. Patrizia Giusti Maccari, Lucca, March 10, 1998.

The old man, probably an instrument maker, is reproduced here in the half-portrait. In front of him, a lute is depicted at an angle to the picture, a perspectival success, for which he checks a string which he holds between both hands. His red robe has vertical slits in regular rows, and glasses are placed on the bridge of his nose. In the heavily darkened background the stone figure of a reclining Venus on a cline. Here, as in Paolini's other works, the chiaroscuro style of Caravaggism is striking, for the painter himself was in his early years in the workshop of Angelo Caroselli (1585-1652) in Rome, who in turn was a successor to Michelangelo Merisi il Caravaggio (1570/71-1610). Thus, here too, the face and especially the forehead of the old man shines out against the black background, with the flat wooden ceiling of the lute corresponding to it. Between light and dark, the stone sculpture reproduced in the background in semi-darkness functions, which also stands out in its coldness of colour from the warm light tones of the foreground. The subject of the picture itself fits entirely into the series of depictions of people who are involved with music or other instruments. Thus, another painting by the painter with exactly the same theme has become known, in which, in contrast to the present painting, a Roman column in place of the antique stone figure has been brought into the picture. The dating of the aforementioned comparative painting between 1619 and 1632 also provides the framework for the chronological classification of the present painting.
Literature:
Cf. Keith Christiansen, A Caravaggio Rediscovered: The Lute Player, Metropolitan Museum of Art 1990, pp. 24-25, pp. 70-73. (12203510) (2) (11)


Pietro Paolini,
1603 Lucca - 1681, attributed
BEARDED OLD MAN CHECKING STRING ON A LUTE
Oil on canvas in oval.
73 x 61 cm.
In old applies oval frame.

Attribution to the artist thanks to an expert's report in copy by Dr Patrizia Giusti Maccari, Lucca dated 10 March 1998.

The old man, probably an instrument maker, is portrayed in half-length portrait format here. A lute is depicted in front of him, arranged diagonally into the painting with skilled perspective. The background is very dark and shows a stone sculpture of a reclining Venus on a chaise longue. As in other works by Paolini, the chiaroscuro style of Caravaggism is striking in this painting although the painter himself was active in the workshop of Angelo Caroselli (1585-1652) in Rome in his youth, who was in turn a follower of Michelangelo Merisi il Caravaggios (1570/71-1610). Another painting by the artist with exactly the same subject is known, which shows - by contrast with the painting on offer for sale in this lot - a Roman column instead of an antique stone sculpture. The dating of the aforementioned comparable painting between 1619 and 1632 also gives a timeframe for the dating of the painting on offer for sale here.

Literature:
Keith Christiansen, A Caravaggio Rediscovered: The Lute Player, Metropolitan Museum of Art 1990, pp. 24-25, pp. 70-73.