Oil on canvas, 48cm by 61cm.
The painting was purchased by John, 5th Earl of Exeter (1648-1700), whilst in Italy on one of his four Grand Tours in the late 17th Century.
It first appears in the Burghley Inventory of 1763: ‘the dressing room…..Olindo and Sophronia by L: Jordanus.’
The story of Olindo and Sophronia is taken from the poem Gerusalemme Liberata, written in 1581 by the Italian poet Torquato Tasso (1544-1595).
The young Christian lovers were rescued by Clorinda, a female Saracen warrior: the story set as Christians and Muslims clashed during the Siege of Jerusalem at the end of the First Crusade in 1099.
Luca Giordano was one of the favourite artists of John, 5th Earl of Exeter (1648-1700), many of whose canvases he acquired, whilst on the Grand Tour.
