Sculptor at work

Painting from the museum’s collection depicts a sculptor at the modelling of a statue of a woman. The composition is dynamic: the man is shown in motion, holding a hammer in his raised right hand and a chisel applied to the figure in his left hand. The colour scheme of the painting is very dark, the bright face and hands of the sculptor and the white of the sculpture are accents that brighten the composition. The background of the painting is dark, slightly lightened around the man’s head and his left hand. The painting is attributed to Pietro Novelli (born in 1603 in Monreale, died in August 1647 in Palermo). Pietro Novelli, known as Il Monrealese, was an Italian Baroque painter, as well as an architect and stage designer. He received his first education from his father, Pietro Antonio Novelli, who was a painter as well. He travelled extensively in Sicily painting pictures, but also designing buildings, fortifications and even jewellery. His work is influenced by Caravaggio and the Neapolitan school, especially Ribera. He was inspired above all by religious art and most of his paintings are devoted to this theme. The painting kept in Łańcut has a wooden, wide profiled and gilded frame, it is exhibited in the Gala Corridor on the first floor of the castle.