Paolo Gerolamo Piola
(Genoa 1666 - Genoa 1724)
Saint Philip Neri with the Child Jesus
Charcoal, pen and brown watercolor
Dimensions: 260 x 192 mm
A 17th-century Baroque artist, active in Genoa and Rome, son of Domenico Piola (Genoa 1627 - Genoa 1703). After initial training at his father's workshop, which involved travels between Rome, Bologna, and Piacenza to follow some of his father's commissions, he moved to Rome between 1690-94 to deepen and expand his artistic training. There he formed relationships with Carlo Maratta (Camerano 1625 - Rome 1713) and the Roman academic environment. In 1694 he returned to Genoa to collaborate with his father on some paintings, especially religious ones. After Domenico's death, Paolo took over the workshop, receiving many more important commissions.
A light and sinuous line describes a mystical and loving moment that captures the viewer's gaze, also thanks to the expedient of the curtain pulled aside on the left. In the center of the sheet, we see Saint Philip Neri gently holding the Child Jesus in his arms. The Saint, kneeling before a prie-dieu, is described with all his iconographic attributes: the open book, the tunic that wraps around and descends softly along the body, and the white lily resting on the ground, diagonally, on the right. The Child is welcomed into his arms, the two exchange a look of devotion, and the little Jesus touches the Saint's face with his left hand. The continuous contour line and the soft stroke used to create chiaroscuro effects and give plasticity to the figures are typical of the artist's manner. The drapery of the Saint presents Paolo Gerolamo's peculiar morphology, a true stylistic signature of the author.
Bibliography: A. Toncini Cabella, Paolo Gerolamo Piola e la sua grande Casa genovese, Genoa, 2002
