"The following condition report has been provided by Henry Gentle, an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. The original canvas is lined and the paint surface is stable and secure. There is a repaired horizontal tear through the wrist and into the hand of Jacob. The general overall condition is good with the majority of the paint in a very good preserved condition, however, under ultraviolet light can be seen a swathe of scattered restorations to the blue of the angel's cloak, in the dark area between the two figures, starting at their feet and travelling up to their chins and between the legs of Jacob; it is present to reduce paint loss primarily caused by shrinkage of the paint medium here, exposing the ground layer beneath. The removal of the varnish would improve the tonality. Offered in a plain gilt wood frame in good condition."
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

The attribution is due to Prof. Nicola Spinosa, a copy of whose letter accompanies this lot. He considers this painting to date from the end of the 1650s and compares it to a picture of the same subject, also by Giordano, in a Neapolitan private collection¹. At the start of his career Giordano was clearly h꧟eld very much under the sway of Jusepe Ribera, his early style being clearly derivative from the elder artist's and it is possible he studied with him. It is not until Giordano's first sojourn in Rome in 1652-3 that Giordano begins to bring a greater dynamism and movement to his compositions, clearly deriving from his encounter with the works of Pietro da Cortona. The influence of Cortona can be clearly seen in the shimmering drapery of the Angel and in the tension of the struggle between Jacob and the Angel, qualities which were lacking in his earliest works. Although consummately still a tenebrist picture it is possible to detect a lightening of the palette in this composition, notably in the use of a rich blue, supporting Spinosa's dating of this work to the end of the 1650s.

1. See D.M. Pagano, in Luca Giordano 1634-1705, exhibition catalogue, Naples, ♏Castel Sant'Elmo & Museo di Capodimonte, 3 March - 3 June 2001; Vienna, Kunsthistorisches Museum, 22 June - 7 October 2001; and Los🎀 Angeles County Museum, 4 November 2001 - 20 January 2002, pp. 106-7, cat. no. 15, reproduced in colour.