The Pardon of St. John Chrysostom

Mattia Preti (Italian, b.1613, d.1699), painter

Circa 1640

Naples/Italy

oil on canvas

96 x 74 1/2 in. (243.8 x 189.2 cm)

Painting

European Paintings, Sculpture and Drawings

The Edwin and Virginia Irwin Memorial, Fanny Bryce Lehmer Endowment, and Museum Purchase: Gift of Mrs. J. Louis Ransohoff, by exchange

Giuseppe Carlo Ratta Garganelli, Bologna, by 1679, when listed in an inventory of October 17, 1679; Ratta family, Via da S. Lucia (Via Castiglione, 24), Bologna, by 1751; documented frequently between 1756 and 1823 (see below in text); by descent to Pompeo Ratta, Bologna, by 1813 at at least 1823; Riccardo Gualino [d.1964], Castello di Cereseto Monferrato, Turin, by at least 1922-possibly ca. 1930 [1]; Private collection, until 1986; [Christie's London, July 10, 1987, lot 127, acquired by]; [Colnaghi, New York, 1987 to 1989, sold to]; Cincinnati Art Museum, 1989-present. Notes: [1] The Italian industrialist Riccardo Gualino amassed a large art collection, which he housed in his home, Cereseto. The painting is first documented in Gualino's collection when he loaned it to an exhibition Mostra della pittura Italiana del Seicento e del Settecento, Palazzo Pitti, Florence, 1922, no. 456. It is not known when the CAM's painting left Gualino's collection. Many works were donated to the Galleria Sabauda, Turin, in 1928. The remainder of the Gualino collection was liquidated in 1930. The present painting was not donated to the Galleria Sabauda, nor did it appear specifically on the inventory, held at the Banca d'Italia, Turin. However, a caption in a 1982-83 catalogue of the Gualino collection notes that, although some works were not included on the inventory, there was a small room in Cereseto where a group of unidentified paintings from various schools was found. The CAM's painting, listed in the catalogue as location unknown, is illustrated along with four other works in association with this caption, suggesting that it may have remained with Gualino until the dispersement of his collection in 1930. See Dagli ori antichi agli anni venti: le collezioni di Riccardo Gualino, exh. cat., Palazzo Madama and Galleria Sabauda, Turin, December 1982 to March 1983, pp. 14 and 58.

1989.8