Domenico Antonio Vaccaro (1678–1745) was an Italian painter, sculptor and architect. He studied under his father Lorenzo Vaccaro before working in the studio of Francesco Solimena. His architectural designs include those for the Palace of the Immacolatella and the church of Santa Maria della Concezione a Montecalvario in Naples.

The present work, which shows Christ with his right arm outstretched, echoes the pose of the Guardian Angel in Vaccaro’s most notable marble sculpture for the Basilica of San Paolo Maggiore, completed in 1724. Here, however, the highly resolved composition, detailed painted surface and size of the model suggest that it was made as a private devotional object rather than as a design for a larger statue.

Vaccaro’s taste for brightly painted drapery and a sense of high Baroque drama is also evident (see ‘Solomon Offering Sacrifices to the Idols’, painted between 1795 and 1700, now in the collection of the Detroit Institute of Arts).