PROVENANCE: Brass Collection, Venice, 1922; Paris art market; Jack Tanzer, 1970; BJU, 1970.

Inspired by the works of Salvator Rosa, Magnasco earned his fame by painting landscapes with small figures and scenes of monastic life. He often collaborated with Giovanni Francesco Peruzzini and Clemente Spera who painted landscapes or classical ruins behind Magnasco's human forms. His forte was grouping figures in dark, monochromatic interiors.

In Monks Before a Fireplace, the emaciated friars relax in their domestic dungeon. One reads a scroll as another one removes his sandals to warm his feet. The foreground figure tries to coax an equally emaciated cat into playful sport with his belt rope. It is all the man can do to make the most out of a life of self-denial and deprivation.