Italian master 17th century, STONING OF ST STEPHEN .

The author of the painting is based on the Roman tradition established by Raphael.
Raphael's student, Giulio Romano, also has similar figures in his Roman work and places them in a similar composition. The author of the painting must have known the engraving by Cornelis Corto, created after the painting by Marcello Venusti, a student of Michelangelo, because he very accurately conceived the Holy Trinity in the clouds and the fortified city - with Jerusalem in the background.
It is interesting that the composition of the painting had an echo in the Genoa art school.
However, the painting is likely to be the work of an artist who lived in central Italy (Florence, Rome) during the Renaissance period of Raphael's work, that is, after 1580.
Oil on canvas, 130x100 cm.