Early 18th Century Religious Italian Painting on Glass

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Early 18th Century Religious Italian Painting on Glass
This important early 18th-century reverse glass painting is a rare example of … Read more Early 18th Century Religious Italian Painting on Glass
This important early 18th-century reverse glass painting is a rare example of popular devotional art, specifically representing Saint Francis of Paola (San Francesco di Paola).
Technique verre églomisé - reverse painting: this wonderful work utilizes the challenging technique of applying cold paints (likely oil-based) directly to the back of a glass sheet.
The artist must work in "reverse" order, painting foreground details first followed by background layers.
This artwork, never before on the market, comes from an important Italian private collection and is beautified by an impressive antique frame in gilded wood.


Iconography of Saint Francis of Paola:
The figure is identified by his traditional brown friar’s saio, long white beard, and the wooden staff.
" CHARITAS" emblem in the upper left, a radiant sun contains the word "CHARITAS," the motto of the Order of Minims founded by the saint.
The saint is depicted standing upon stylized blue waves, representing his most famous miracle—crossing the Strait of Messina on his cloak after being refused passage by a boatman.
The painting exhibits a naive realism, a folk-art aesthetic, with flat perspective and simplified anatomical forms common in 18th-century devotional objects.
Dominated by earthy browns and ochres for the landscape, contrasted with the vibrant blue of the water and the gilded halo, typical of popular Italian glass painting. The piece is housed in its original XVIII-century gilded wood frame, characterized by bold, undulating "C-scroll" carvings and a distressed gold leaf finish that complements the period-correct materials

Dimensions are frame included


Some defects, as shown in the photo See less