Late 19 Century Pair of Portraits of Pilgrims of Compostela after Grimou

A complementary pair of 19 century Italian paintings in the “chiaro scuro” style depicting pilgrims gazing intently with a certain degree of sentimentality at the artist. The pilgrims’ identity is made manifest by the staff both are carrying. The scallop shell held by the female pilgrim is a symbol of the shrine of Santiago -Saint James – in Compostela Spain. The paintings are presented in an elaborately carved and gilded Italian ‘Renaissance’ style C. & A. SCHWICKER, FLORENCE, ITALY c. 1900 frames. The original paintings of the pilgrims by Grimou executed in the early 18 Century now hang in the Ufizzi Gallery in Florence.

Alexis Grimou (24 May 1678 – 1733) was a French painter.  He was never an apprentice in a studio. His father had been a Swiss guard at Versailles. He trained himself by copying works of Van Dyck and Rembrandt. He painted mainly spirited portraits or portrait scenes, such as women singing and playing musical instruments. He was admitted to the Academy of Paris in 1705, but resigned complaining about the mediocrity of his peers. He then joined the Academy of St. Luke in Rome, where he was admitted in 1709.  The original paintings of the shepherd and shepherdess, (or pilgrims) are in the Ufizzi Museum in Florence.

Dimensions of the canvas: 32″H (81cm) x 24″W (61cm)