104

Francesco De Mura e aiuti ( Napoli, 1696- 1782)

King Solomon directs the construction of the Temple in Jerusalem

oil on canvas

cm 155x100

within a contemporary carved and gilded frame with multiple orders of carving

The painting is probably a sketch for the panel created by Francesco de Mura for the counterfaçade of the church of Santa Chiara in Naples, depicting the Restoration of the temple of Solomon.

Allegorically he was considered as King Roberto D'angiò who directed the construction of the Basilica of Santa Chiara in Naples. The work,unfortunately lost during the bombings of 1943, is known to us through the photographs in Alinari black and white, allowing interesting comparisons.

Different versions of the painting are known: an almost identical one, with small variations in size, is in Norfolk, at the Chrysler Museum; another sketch is preserved in the Abbey of the Santissima Trinità in Cava Dei Tirreni (Salerno). In the scientific catalog of Pio Monte della Misericordia, on p 748 at n. 12 of the inventory mentions "a painting of 4 by 6 palms, without frame, with the effigy of the Building of the Temple of Solomon".

Comparative bibliography: Nicola Spinosa, Neapolitan painting of the eighteenth century - From Baroque to Roccocò Naples, 1993 p 161 card 258, ill 308 p 3