92
Saint Paul the hermit
The painting, which bears an ancient attribution to Jusepe Ribera, does not seem to belong to the Neapolitan current for stylistic reasons, and judging by the setting and the pictorial ductus, it is more plausible to think of its later location during the seventeenth century. The painter in question seems to have reflected on stylistic features deriving from the Emilian school, basing his training on the study of the works of Parmigianino, Carracci and Guercino. These characteristics, together with a certain introspection and solemnity, are typical of the Bolognese painter Girolamo Negri, known as Il Boccia, to whom the painting is to be attributed. As proof of the fact that the painting must be added to the corpus of Negri, the comparison, more than stringent, with the painting of the same subject kept at the Pinacoteca di Budrio clarifies.
cm 96x74