Santillo Sannino

(Naples active, died 1685)
The Supper at Emmaus,
monogrammed on the goblet: TS (ligated) F.,
oil on canvas, 127 x 153.5 cm, framed
We are grateful to Giuseppe Porzio for suggesting the attribution of the present painting on the basis of a photograph.

The present work depicts the Biblical episode of the Supper at Emmaus, specifically the moment when the resurrected Christ breaks the bread and reveals His identity to the disciples. Recognising Christ causes astonishment in the two disciples: the one on the left rests his hands on the chair to stand up, in wonderment, while the one on the right brings his hand to his chest.

Santillo Sannino is documented as active in Naples in the second half of the seventeenth century and is stylistically close to Massimo Stanzione (1585–1656), which demonstrate the Annunciation in the Cathedral of Gravina or The Madonna Appearing to Saint Francis Xavier in San Pietro in Teggiano. Biographical information on the painter is scarce to date and summarised in a relatively recent study by Mauro Vincenzo Fontana (Nel segno del Cavalier Stanzione. Due aggiunte a Santillo Sannino, in: ArtItalies. Bulletin de l’Association des Historiens de l’Art Italien, 21, 2015, pp. 20–27).