Palma Maria Recchia

1. Introduction The analyzed painting is the artwork of Massimo Stanzione, an artist whom Bernardo De Dominici described as an excellent painter and drawer [1]. It depicts Saint Patroba preaching to the people of Pozzuoli and was painted to decorate the choir of the Cathedral of Saint Procolo in Pozzuoli (Figure 1). This commission was completed in the fourth decade of the seventeenth century, a turning point in the evolution of Massimo Stanzione’s style.