Luca Giordano - Christ Among the Doctors

Luca Giordano painted the motif of Christ among the Doctors in several different versions and with various compositions. In contrast to the present work, most of these others are landscape format with the 12-year old Christ depicted on a rather low pedestal. The version closest to the present work is a painting in private ownership in Italy (Oreste Ferrari/ Giuseppe Scavizzi: Luca Giordano, 2000, no. A177, illus. 258).
Wolfgang Prohaska, the Viennese expert for Baroque painting, dated the work to 1665 in a letter to the previous owner. Around this time, Giordano experimented with various compositional ideas, inspired by works seen during his sojourns to Venice and Rome. The present work displays Venetian influence, but also that of Rubens, as seen in the dark-haired figure in the right margin.