Francesco de Mura (1696-1782) Allegorical scene with putti

Relined canvas measuring 82 cm by 62 cm
Antique frame with reversed profile measuring 102 cm by 81 cm.

This beautiful painting is a work attributed to Francesco de Mura, I thank Maison Wannenes for confirming our opinion. Putti (putto in the singular) are small, plump, naked, sometimes winged cherubs, recurrent in Renaissance, Baroque and Rococo art. From an iconographic point of view, they date back to Antiquity: the word is derived from the Latin putus, which means little boy.

Francesco de Mura (1696-1782)

Francesco de Mura was the favorite student of Francesco Solimena, a dominant figure in Neapolitan painting in the first half of the 18th century. Having entered the master's studio at a very young age, he would always remain faithful to him. A painter of great energy and intelligence, de Mura worked in Naples at a time of great opportunity, particularly royal commissions from the Bourbon court. In 1737 Queen Maria Amalia of Saxony commissioned him to paint two large allegorical ceiling paintings for the Palazzo Reale in Naples. His reputation for palace decoration earned him the patronage of the Sardinian kings at the Palazzo Reale in Turin, where his fine classically inspired frescoes survive in perfect condition. Despite this aptitude for public painting, de Mura was also a portrait painter and creator of small-scale devotional works. Among the large mural decorations we can mention the frescoes in the Palazzo Reale in Naples, but it was probably during his stay in Turin (1741-42) that he most successfully asserted himself. The Scenes from the Life of Theseus, painted in the Palazzo Reale, highlight the harmonious encounter between the elegant composition of Solimena and the luminosity of Giordano's last works. The ceiling of the Nunziatella, executed in Naples in 1751, the Allegories of the Chierici Palace in Turin. In the last period of his activity, this influence will lead him to forms of clearly classicizing orientation.