14 Paintings, scenes from the Bible, by The Old Masters, Andrea Vicentino, Andrea Vaccaro, Guido Reni, Francesco Capella, Carlo Maratta, Robert Campin, Matteo Rosselli, Niccolò Tornioli and Bartolomeo Cavarozzi, with footnotes # 35

Andrea Vicentino, (1539-1614)
The Crusaders Conquering the City of Zara in 1202
Oil on canvas
Sala del Maggior Consiglio, Venezia, Italy

Andrea Vicentino (c. 1542 – 1617) was an Italian painter of the late-Renaissance or Mannerist period. He was a pupil of the painter Giovanni Battista Maganza. Born in Vicenza, he was also known as Andrea Michieli or Michelli. He moved to Venice in the mid-1570s and registered in the “Fraglia” or guild of Venetian painters in 1583. He worked alongside Tintoretto at the Palazzo Ducale in Venice, helping paint Arrival of Henry III at Venice (c. 1593) at the Sala delle Quattro Porte of the Ducal palace, as well as works in the Sala del Senato and dello Scrutinio. He also painted the altarpiece of Madonna of the Rosary (c. 1590) for the cathedral of Treviso, God the Father with Three Theological Virtues (1598) for the church in Gambara, and St Charles Borromeo (c. 1605) for a church in Mestre.Paintings by him exist in a number of galleries including the 'Raising of Lazarus' at the National Museum of Fine Arts in Valletta, Malta. More on Andrea Vicentino

The Siege of Zara or Siege of Zadar (10–24 November 1202) was the first major action of the Fourth Crusade and the first attack against a Catholic city by Catholic crusaders. The crusaders had an agreement with Venice for transport across the sea, but the price far exceeded what they were able to pay. Venice set the condition that the crusaders help them capture Zadar (or Zara), a constant battleground between Venice on one side and Croatia and Hungary on the other, whose king, Emeric, pledged himself to join the Crusade. Although a part of the crusaders refused to take part in the siege, the attack on Zadar began in November 1202 despite letters from Pope Innocent III forbidding such an action and threatening excommunication. Zadar fell on 24 November and the Venetians and the crusaders sacked the city. After spending the winter in Zadar the Fourth Crusade continued its campaign, which led to the Siege of Constantinople. More on The Siege of Zara or Siege of Zadar

ATTRIBUTED TO ANDREA VACCARO, (ITALIAN 1604-1670)
Saint Agatha of Sicily (231 AD – 251 AD) 
oil on canvas
92.8 x 72.3 cm (36 1/2 x 28 1/2 in.)
Private Collection

Was Estimated for $8,000 – $12,000 but sold for $2,560 in December 2016

Saint Agatha of Sicily (231 AD – 251 AD) is a Christian saint and virgin martyr. Agatha was born at Catania or Palermo, Sicily, and she was martyred in approximately 251. She is one of seven women, who, along with the Blessed Virgin Mary, are commemorated by name in the Canon of the Mass. 

She is the patron saint of Catania, Molise, Malta, San Marino, and Zamarramala, a municipality of the Province of Segovia in Spain. She is also the patron saint of breast cancer patients, martyrs, wet nurses, bell-founders, bakers, fire, earthquakes, and eruptions of Mount Etna. 

Although the martyrdom of Saint Agatha is authenticated, and her veneration as a saint had spread beyond her native place even in antiquity, there is no reliable information concerning the details of her death. According to Jacobus de Voragine, Legenda Aurea of ca. 1288, having dedicated her virginity to God,[ fifteen-year-old Agatha, from a rich and noble family, rejected the amorous advances of the low-born Roman prefect Quintianus, who then persecuted her for her Christian faith. He sent Agatha to Aphrodisia, the keeper of a brothel. The madam finding her intractable, Quintianus sent for her, argued, threatened, and finally had her put in prison. Amongst the tortures she underwent was the cutting off of her breasts with pincers. After further dramatic confrontations with Quintianus, represented in a sequence of dialogues in her passio that document her fortitude and steadfast devotion, Saint Agatha was then sentenced to be burnt at the stake, but an earthquake saved her from that fate; instead, she was sent to prison where St. Peter the Apostle appeared to her and healed her wounds. Saint Agatha died in prison, according to the Legenda Aurea in "the year of our Lord two hundred and fifty-three in the time of Decius, the emperor of Rome." More on Saint Agatha of Sicily

Andrea Vaccaro (baptised on 8 May 1604 – 18 January 1670) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period. Vaccaro was in his time one of the most successful painters in Naples, a city then under Spanish rule. Very successful and valued in his lifetime, Vaccaro and his workshop produced many religious works for local patrons as well as for export to Spanish religious orders and noble patrons. More on Andrea Vaccaro

Follower of Guido Reni
LOT AND HIS DAUGHTERS
oil on canvas
132 x 160 cm.; 52 x 63 in
Private Collection

Sold for 18,750 GBP in December 2016 

Guido Reni (4 November 1575 – 18 August 1642) was an Italian painter of high-Baroque style. Born in Bologna into a family of musicians, Guido Reni was the son of Daniele Reni and Ginevra de’ Pozzi. As a child of nine, he was apprenticed under the Bolognese studio of Denis Calvaert. When Reni was about twenty years old he migrated to the rising rival studio, named Accademia degli Incamminati (Academy of the "newly embarked", or progressives), led by Lodovico Carracci. He went on to form the nucleus of a prolific and successful school of Bolognese painters who followed Annibale Carracci to Rome. Like many other Bolognese painters, Reni's painting was thematic and eclectic in style. More on Guido Reni

Lot and His Daughters. Genesis 19:30-38

30 Lot and his two daughters left Zoar and settled in the mountains, for he was afraid to stay in Zoar. He and his two daughters lived in a cave. 31 One day the older daughter said to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is no man around here to give us children—as is the custom all over the earth. 32 Let’s get our father to drink wine and then sleep with him and preserve our family line through our father.”

33 That night they got their father to drink wine, and the older daughter went in and slept with him. He was not aware of it when she lay down or when she got up.

34 The next day the older daughter said to the younger, “Last night I slept with my father. Let’s get him to drink wine again tonight, and you go in and sleep with him so we can preserve our family line through our father.” 35 So they got their father to drink wine that night also, and the younger daughter went in and slept with him. Again he was not aware of it when she lay down or when she got up.

36 So both of Lot’s daughters became pregnant by their father. 37 The older daughter had a son, and she named him Moab[a]; he is the father of the Moabites of today. 38 The younger daughter also had a son, and she named him Ben-Ammi[b]; he is the father of the Ammonites of today. More on Lot and His Daughters

Francesco Capella, called Daggiù, VENICE 1714 - 1784 BERGAMO
THE MADONNA AND CHILD
Oil on canvas
80.3 x 63.9 cm.; 31 5/8  x 28 1/8  in.
Private Collection

Sold for 6.250 GBP in Dec 2016

Francesco Capella (1714–1784), called Il Capella and Francesco Dagiu, was a scholar of Giovanni Battista Piazzetta. He was born in Venice, Italy. He painted history, and was chiefly employed for the churches at Bergamo, and by the state. One of his best pictures is 'St. George and the Dragon,' in the church of San Bonate. More on Francesco Capella

Studio of Carlo Maratta, CAMERANO 1625 - 1713 ROME
THE MADONNA AND CHILD WITH THE INFANT SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST, SAINT CECILIA AND AN ANGEL
Oil on canvas
129.5 x 107.5 cm.; 51 x 42 3/8  in
Private Collection

Sold for 13,125 GBP in Dec 2016

Saint Cecilia is the patroness of musicians. It is written that as the musicians played at her wedding she "sang in her heart to the Lord". She is one of seven women, excluding the Blessed Virgin, commemorated by name in the Canon of the Mass.

According to the story, despite her vow of virginity, she was forced by her parents to marry a nobleman named Valerian. During the wedding, Cecilia sat apart singing to God in her heart, and for that she was later declared the saint of musicians. When the time came for her marriage to be consummated, Cecilia told Valerian that she had an angel of the Lord watching over her who would punish him if he dared to violate her virginity but who would love him if he could respect her maidenhood. When Valerian asked to see the angel, Cecilia replied that he would see the angel if he would go to the third milestone on the Via Appia (the Appian Way) and be baptized by Pope Urbanus.] After his baptism, he found an angel standing by the side of Cecilia, and crowning her with a chaplet of roses and lilies.

The martyrdom of Cecilia is said to have followed that of Valerian and his brother by the prefect Turcius Almachius. The legend about Cecilia’s death says that after being struck three times on the neck with a sword, she lived for three days, and asked the pope to convert her home into a church. More on Saint Cecilia

John the Baptist, known as the prophet Yahya in the Qur'an, was a Jewish itinerant preacher in the early first century AD. John is revered as a major religious figure in Christianity, Islam, the Bahá'í Faith, and Mandaeism. He is called a prophet by all of these traditions, and honoured as a saint in many Christian traditions.

John used baptism as the central sacrament of his messianic movement.[ Most scholars agree that John baptized Jesus. Scholars generally believe Jesus was a follower or disciple of John and several New Testament accounts report that some of Jesus' early followers had previously been followers of John. John the Baptist is also mentioned by the Jewish historian Josephus. Some scholars maintain that John was influenced by the semi-ascetic Essenes, who expected an apocalypse and practiced rituals corresponding strongly with baptism, although no direct evidence substantiates this.

According to the New Testament, John anticipated a messianic figure greater than himself, and Jesus was the one whose coming John foretold. Christians commonly refer to John as the precursor or forerunner of Jesus, since John announces Jesus' coming. John is also identified with the prophet Elijah. More on John the Baptist

Studio of Carlo Maratta, CAMERANO 1625 - 1713 ROME was an Italian painter, the leading painter in Rome in the latter part of the 17th century. As the pupil of Andrea Sacchi he continued the tradition of the classical Grand Manner, based on Raphael, and he gained an international reputation particularly for his paintings of the Madonna and Child, which are reworkings of types established during the High Renaissance. The rhetorical splendour of his work is thoroughly in the Baroque idiom, however, and the numerous altarpieces he painted for Roman churches (many still in situ) give whole-hearted expression to the dogmas of the Counter-Reformation. Maratta was also an accomplished fresco painter, and the finest portraitist of the day in Rome. He had a large studio and his posthumous reputation suffered when the inferior works of his many pupils and imitators were confused with his own paintings. More on Carlo Maratta

Workshop of Robert Campin (Netherlandish, ca. 1375–1444 Tournai)
Annunciation Triptych (Merode Altarpiece), Date:ca. 1427–32
Oil on oak
Dimensions:Overall (open): 25 3/8 x 46 3/8 in. (64.5 x 117.8 cm) Central panel: 25 1/4 x 24 7/8 in. (64.1 x 63.2 cm) each wing: 25 3/8 x 10 3/4 in. (64.5 x 27.3 cm)
 The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Having just entered the room, the angel Gabriel is about to tell the Virgin Mary that she will be the mother of Jesus. The golden rays pouring in through the left oculus carry a miniature figure with a cross. On the right wing, Joseph, who is betrothed to the Virgin, works in his carpenter’s shop, drilling holes in a board. The mousetraps on the bench and in the shop window opening onto the street are thought to allude to references in the writings of Saint Augustine identifying the cross as the devil’s mousetrap. On the left wing, the kneeling donor appears to witness the central scene through the open door. His wife kneels behind him, and a town messenger stands at the garden gate. The owners would have purchased the triptych to use in private prayer. An image of Christ’s conception in an interior not unlike the one in which they lived also may have reinforced their hope for their own children. 

Robert Campin (c. 1375 – 26 April 1444), now usually identified as the artist known as the Master of Flémalle, is usually considered the first great master of Flemish and Early Netherlandish painting. His identity and the attribution of the paintings in the "Campin group" has been a matter of controversy for decades. His life is relatively well documented for the period, but he did not sign his paintings, and none could be securely connected with him, whilst a corpus of work attached to the unidentified "Master of Flémalle".

By 1406 he was active in Tournai, in today's Belgium. His early work shows the influence of the International Gothic painters the Limbourg brothers (1385 – 1416) and Melchior Broederlam (c. 1350 – c.1409), but display a realistic observation than any earlier artists, which he achieved through innovations in the use of oil paints. He was successful in his lifetime, and the recipient of a number of civic commissions. Campin taught both Rogier van der Weyden and Jacques Daret. He was a contemporary of Jan van Eyck, they met in 1427. Campin's best known work is the Mérode Altarpiece, dated c 1425-28, now in New York. More on Robert Campin

Robert Campin (1375/1379–1444)
St Veronica, c. 1410
Oil on Canvas
Städel, Frankfurt am Main

Saint Veronica is known as the woman who offered a cloth to Jesus so He could wipe His face on the way to His crucifixion. The cloth is believed to exist today in the Vatican and is considered one of the most treasured relics of the Church.

Saint Veronica is not mentioned in the Bible, but is known to us by Catholic tradition and in the Sixth Station of the Cross, "Veronica Wipes the Face of Jesus."

Legend states that as Christ was walking to Calvary, his face dripping with sweat and blood, Saint Veronica, a bystander, was moved with compassion. She approached Jesus and offered Him a cloth, likely her veil, which He accepted and used to wipe His face.

The image of his face was subsequently imprinted on the cloth. More on Saint Veronica

Robert Campin (1375/1379–1444), see above

Robert Campin, (1375/1379–1444)
The Marriage of Mary, c 1420
Grisaille, Oil on oak table
77 × 88 cm (30.3 × 34.6 in)
Prado Museum, Madrid

Two scenes are represented in this work. On the left, in a circular, Romanesque interior covered with a dome, we see The Miracle of the Flowered Staff, which designated Joseph as the husband of Mary. In the building´s stained-glass windows, capitals and tympana are scenes from the Old Testament that foreshadow or announce others from the New Testament, such as the sacrifice of Isaac, which prefigures the Redemption of Christ. On the right is a depiction of the betrothal of Mary and Joseph under a gothic portico, announcing the imminent arrival of the New Law. In this, one of his earliest works, Campin maintains the characteristic exoticism of the international style, combined with Flemish naturalism and the clear depiction of the quality of things. The figures of Saint Claire and Saint James the Elder are painted on the back in grisaille, in a sculptural manner. Attributed to Roger van der Weyden for some time, this panel entered El Escorial in 1584, arriving at the Prado Museum in 1839. More on this painting

The Marriage of the Virgin is the subject in Christian art depicting the marriage of the Virgin Mary and Saint Joseph. Unlike many other scenes in Life of the Virgin cycles (like the Nativity of Mary and Presentation of Mary), it is not a feast in the church calendar.

In art the subject could be covered in several different scenes, and the betrothal of Mary, with Joseph's blossoming rod, was often shown, despite its apocryphal origin. Wedding processions are also shown, especially in the Early Medieval period. More on The Marriage of the Virgin

The Golden Legend recounts how, when Mary was 14 and living in the Temple, the High Priest gathered all male descendants of David of marriageable age including Saint Joseph (though he was much older than the rest). The High Priest ordered them to each bring a rod; he that owned the rod which would bear flowers was divinely ordained to become Mary's husband. After the Holy Spirit descended as a dove and caused Joseph's rod to blossom, he and Mary were wed according to Jewish custom.  More on The Golden Legend

Robert Campin (1375/1379–1444), see above

Master of Saint Augustine, (Netherlandish, ca. 1490)
Scenes from the Life of Saint Augustine of Hippo, Date:ca. 1490
Oil, gold, and silver on wood
54 1/4 x 59 in. (137.8 x 149.9 cm) gr. thickness: 3/8 in. (1 cm)
 The Metropolitan Museum of Art

This painting was the central panel of a triptych dedicated to Saint Augustine (354–430), a Christian theologian so celebrated that he is sometimes called a Doctor of the Church. The composition is divided into five scenes: in the center, Saint Augustine is consecrated bishop of Hippo Regius, a Roman city in present-day Algeria; in the upper left, Saint Augustine is ordained as a priest; in the lower left, Saint Augustine preaches while his mother, Monica, anachronistically says the rosary, a prayer regimen of the late Middle Ages. At the upper right, Saint Augustine converses with a boy who says that filling a hole in the sand with the sea is no more difficult than explaining the Trinity; and in the lower right, Saint Augustine preaches. In the windows behind the altar at the right are kneeling figures of a man and woman, along with coats of arms. Might these be clues to the original place for which the altarpiece was created, or are they pure inventions? Of particular interest in this panel are the detailed and richly depicted varieties of ecclesiastical vestments and altar implements, many examples of which are similar to works displayed in the Cloisters’ Treasury. More on this painting

St. Augustine of Hippo (A.D. 354 - 430) was an Algerian-Roman philosopher and theologian of the late Roman / early Medieval) period. He is one of the most important early figures in the development of Western Christianity, and was a major figure in bringing Christianity to dominance in the previously pagan Roman Empire. He is often considered the father of orthodox theology and the greatest of the four great fathers of the Latin Church (along with St. Ambrose, St. Jerome and St. Gregory).

Unlike the later Scholastics who took Aristotle as the classical model to be integrated into Christian thought, Augustine developed a philosophical and theological system which employed elements of Plato and Neo-Platonism in support of Christian orthodoxy. His many works profoundly influenced the medieval worldview. More on St. Augustine of Hippo

The Master of the Saint Augustine Altarpiece (sometimes called the Master of the Augustinians' Altarpiece) was a German painter, active in Nuremberg during the second half of the 15th century. His work indicates familiarity with the work of both Martin Schöngauer and the Master of the Housebook. More on The Master of the Saint Augustine

Lombard School, 17th Century
SAINT JOHN THE EVANGELIST
old inventory number brushed on reverse: 36
Oil on canvas
90.8 x 75 cm.; 35 3/4  x 29 1/2  in.
Private Collection

Sold for 500 GBP in Dec 2016

John the Evangelist is the name traditionally given to the author of the Gospel of John. Christians have traditionally identified him with John the Apostle, John of Patmos, and John the Presbyter, though this has been disputed by modern scholars.

Christian tradition says that John the Evangelist was John the Apostle. A historical figure, one of the "pillars" of the Jerusalem church after Jesus' death. He was one of the original twelve apostles and is thought to be the only one to have lived into old age and not be killed for his faith. John is associated with the city of Ephesus, where he is said to have lived and been buried. Some believe that he was exiled (around 95 AD) to the Aegean island of Patmos, where he wrote the Book of Revelation. More on John the Evangelist 

He wrote to the seven Christian churches in Asia to warn them of various challenges and temptations that confront them, which have been revealed to him in a vision. He then relates several additional powerful visions concerning the Last Days and the Second Coming of Christ. More on John the Evangelist

Lombard School; a school of art in Northern Italy. Lombard architecture developed from the eighth to tenth centuries. The establishment of Christianity as the Lombards’ official religion fostered the rise of an independent school of architecture that played a decisive role in the development of the Romanesque style in Italy.
Lombard trecento and early quattrocento painting, which developed within the framework of the late, or international, Gothic style, is noted for a delicate elegance of form and direct, poetic observations of the real world. Pisanello played an important role in the development of Lombard quattrocento painting.
In the second half of the 15th century, Florentine art and the work of Mantegna particularly influenced Lombard painting. The works of masters of this period were marked by plastic clarity of composition, a softer palette, and an increased interest in chiaroscuro modeling. During the High Renaissance the impact of Leonardo da Vinci was paramount, with his Milanese pupils creating works permeated by contemplative and sentimental moods. In the second quarter of the 16th century, the traditions of the Lombard quattrocento combined with Venetian and northern influences, resulting in the rise of the separate Brescian school. During the 16th century and the baroque period, the inner unity of the Lombard school was lost. More Lombard School

Lombard School, 17th Century
CHRIST WASHING THE APOSTLES' FEET
Oil on canvas
195.5 x 291 cm.; 77 x 114 1/2  in.
Private Collection

Sold for 12,500 GBP in Dec 2016

At the Last Supper, on the night before Jesus knew that He was going to die. He was about to be betrayed by Judas, one of His own disciples.  Jesus got up from the meal. He wrapped a towel around His waist. He poured water into a large bowl. Then He began to wash His disciples’ feet. He dried them with the towel that was wrapped around Him.

In those days, foot washing was needed in every home. The streets were dusty and dirty. Roads even had garbage and waste from the animals that traveled up and down the same streets. 

The dinner-time custom was to lean back around the table at the evening meal. Usually, the lowest servant in the household was expected to wash the feet of guests. Having your guests’ feet washed was a way to show honor to your guests.

Since the last supper was held in a private home, with just Jesus and His disciples, we can easily see why there were no servants there. More on Last Supper

Lombard School, 17th Century, see above

Matteo Rosselli, FLORENCE 1578 - 1650
THE HOLY FAMILY WITH THE ANNUNCIATION TO THE SHEPHERDS IN THE DISTANCE
Oil on canvas
119.7 x 105 cm.; 47 1/8  x 39 1/2  in
Private Collection

Estimate for 30,000 - 40,000 GBP in Dec 2016

Matteo Rosselli (10 August 1578 – 18 January 1650) was an Italian painter of the late Florentine Counter-Mannerism and early Baroque. He is best known however for his highly populated grand-manner historical paintings. On 26 February 1599, he was inducted to the Accademia del Disegno, and in 1605 traveled to Rome to work with Domenico Passignano for six months.

He completed some frescoes on Lives of Servite Monks (1614–1618) in the Palazzo Pitti and in the Cloister of the Basilica della Santissima Annunziata; a Madonna and child with St Francis altarpiece for the Church of Santa Maria Maggiore in Florence; and an Adoration of the Magi (1607) for the Church of Sant'Andrea in Montevarchi. He painted a Crucifixion (1613) now in the parish church at Scarperia. He painted a Last Supper (1614) now in Conservatorio di San Pier Martire.

Upon the French monarch's death, he was commissioned two commemorative paintings of events in the life of Henry IV: his visit to Nantes and Gaudabec (1610). He also completed an Assumption (1613) for the church of San Domenico in Pistoia. He painted a number of frescoes for the Casa Buonarroti based on events of Michelangelo's life.

The largest collection of Rosselli drawings is contained within the Louvre Museum, Paris, with many being preliminary sketches for other works. More on Matteo Rosselli

Niccolò Tornioli, SIENA 1606 - 1651 ROME
THE HOLY FAMILY
Oil on canvas
133.9 x 96 cm.; 52 3/4  x 38 1/8  in.
Private Collection

Sold for 43,750 GBP in December 2016 

Tornioli, whist known predominantly as painter of figurative religious scenes, is also known to have been a proficient painter of still lifes, a fact attested to by the inclusion of floral motifs in many of his mature works, and as seen in the scattered stems at the lower corner of this Holy Family.1 Ciampolini writes that this interest in the inclusion of floral still life elements may well have been a result Tornioli's endeavours to adopt the stylistic preferences of Roman patrons in preparation of his own move to Rome from Sienna in the 1640s. More on this painting

Niccolò Tornioli, SIENA 1606 - 1651 was an Italian painter. He was born in Siena in 1598 and was in Rome since 1633.

In 1640s he worked for Cardinal Bernardino Spada and his brother Virgilio Spada. Most of his preserved paintings are today in Galleria Spada in Rome.

He painted for the Spada chapel in the church of San Paolo in Bologna a Cain slaying Abel and a Jacob wrestling with Angel . More on Niccolò Tornioli

Follower of Bartolomeo Cavarozzi
THE SACRIFICE OF ISAAC
Oil on canvas
108.5 x 163 cm.; 42 3/4  x 64 1/8  in.
Private Collection

Sold for 8,750 GBP in Dec 2016

This painting was probably painted around 1617 by Bartolomeo Cavarozzi, one of Caravaggio's most successful and accomplished followers. Such are its quality and dramatic impact that for several years after its rediscovery in 1987 the painting was associated with Caravaggio himself and it has been exhibited as such numerous times in the recent past. More on this painting

According to the Bible, God commands Abraham to offer his son Isaac as a sacrifice. After Isaac is bound to an altar, the angel of God stops Abraham at the last minute, saying "now I know you fear God." At this point, Abraham sees a ram caught in some nearby bushes and sacrifices the ram instead of Isaac. More on THE SACRIFICE OF ISAAC

Bartolomeo Cavarozzi (15 February 1587 – 21 September 1625) was an Italian caravaggisti painter of the Baroque period active in Spain, alongside his master Giovanni Battista Crescenzi.

Bartolomeo was born at Viterbo, he traveled to Spain with his teacher to help paint and build the Pantheon at the Escorial. He adopted the style of Cristofano Roncalli. He painted a St Ursula and Her Companions with Pope Ciriacus and St Catherine of Alexandria (1608) for the Confraternità delle Sante Orsola e Caterina. He died in Rome.

Other sources attribute his training to Guercino, and indicate that he was active in the town of Viterbo, painting the Visitation (1622) for the Chapel of the Palazzo Pubblico, Saint Isidore for the Chiesa Collegiata di Sant'Angelo in Spata; a San Silvestro for the Church of the Confraternity of Jesus; a St Phillip Apostle for the Church of San Pietro del Castagno; a St Benedict for the lateral door of the Church of Monasterio della Duchessa; a Presentation at the Temple for the Church of the College of Doctors, and also painted a canvas for the Chapel of the Calabresi family in the church of Sant'Ignazio. A contemporary from Viterbo, Filippo Caparozzi, was a disciple of Giuseppe d'Arpino. More on Bartolomeo Cavarozzi





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13 Paintings, Olympian deities in classical Hellenic Mythology, by the Old Masters, with footnotes #6

Alessandro Rosi (1627–1697)
The Judgment of Paris
Oil on canvas
70 × 55 cm (27.6 × 21.7 in)
Private collection

Alessandro Rosi (28 December 1627 in Rovezzano – 19 April 1697 in Florence) was an Italian artist, working during the Baroque period. Rossi trained in the workshops of Jacopo Vignali and Cesare Dandini. It seems that he undertook a study trip to Rome, where he saw the work of Simon Vouet and Giovanni Lanfranco. 

His biographer Baldinucci described him as having the extravagant temperament of an artist. Rosi enjoyed the patronage of some of the most important Florentine families of the time, such as the Corsini or Rinuccini families, for which he undertook large decorative projects. He also made a series of ten designs for tapestries commissioned by Cosimo III de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany. His foremost pupil was Alessandro Gherardini. He died at the age of seventy after being struck by a falling column while walking along the Via Condotta in Florence.

"Little is known of his life." Only the single full-length study of his oeuvre brought him to the forefront. His work previously tended to be confused with that of other artists such as Sigismondo Coccapini. His work has undergone a re-evaluation by critics in recent years, after centuries of oblivion. More

Alessandro Rosi (1627–1697)
The Judgment of Paris
Oil on canvas
72.5 × 58.5 cm (28.5 × 23 in)
Object history With Wildenstein Gallery, New York.
Private collection

The above Judgement of Paris appears to be an early work by Rosi. Compared with his more complicated and multi figured mature pictures, compositions from his early career can be generally categorized as simpler, and with only a few essential figures. The motif of the the two embracing graces here is repeated by Rosi in a later Ceres (below). Furthermore, the pose of design of Paris is repeated in one of the figures in the aforementioned Palazzo Corsini fresco. Rosi executed another version of the present composition, of slightly larger dimensions, in the Staatsgalerie, Stuttgart. That version includes a flute in the foreground next to the large sea shell, an obvious allusion to Paris' preference towards the bucolic activities of a shepherd, and not a soldier of Troy.  More

Alessandro Rosi, 1627-1697
Paris with the goddesses Juno, Minerva and Venus, c. 1650
Oil on canvas
Height: 87.5 cm; Width: 73.5 cm;
Staatsgalerie Stuttgart

The Florentine painter puts the Trojan shepherd-prince at the center of his composition. He has laid aside his conch and flute and, facing the viewer, holds the golden apple of discord in his hand. He will award it to Venus, the most beautiful of the three goddesses. The goddess of love will reward him with Helena, the wife of Menelaus, whose abduction will be the Trojan War. More

AN 18TH CENTURY PAINTING AFTER LUCAS CRANACH THE ELDER
The Judgement of Paris
oil on panel
103 x 62 cm (40 1/2 x 24 1/2 in.)
Private Collection

The Judgement of Paris. This early version of The Judgement of Paris, inspired by a panel on the same subject by Lucas Cranach the Elder (in the collection the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York) depicts the genesis of the Trojan War and the events that would lead to the city`s eventual demise. The languid figure of Paris is shown in the lower left, about to be woken up by Hermes with a request to determine which of the three goddesses presented, Hera, Aphrodite and Athena, is the most beautiful. Hermes is shown holding a golden apple, which according to legend, was inscribed by Eris (the goddess of discord) to the fairest, after she was not invited to Peleus` and Thetis` wedding, and thrown amid the gods into the celebration. Aphrodite won Paris` favour by promising him the love of Helen, the most beautiful mortal woman, should he select her to be the recipient of the coveted prize. More

Lucas Cranach the Elder (c. 1472 – 16 October 1553) was a German Renaissance painter and printmaker in woodcut and engraving. He was court painter to the Electors of Saxony for most of his career, and is known for his portraits, both of German princes and those of the leaders of the Protestant Reformation, whose cause he embraced with enthusiasm, becoming a close friend of Martin Luther. He also painted religious subjects, first in the Catholic tradition, and later trying to find new ways of conveying Lutheran religious concerns in art. He continued throughout his career to paint nude subjects drawn from mythology and religion. He had a large workshop and many works exist in different versions; his son Lucas Cranach the Younger, and others, continued to create versions of his father's works for decades after his death. Lucas Cranach the Elder has been considered the most successful German artist of his time. More

Attributed to Pierre Dulin (Paris 1669-1748)
Venus reclining in a landscape 
oil on panel
18.1 x 23cm (7 1/8 x 9 1/16in).
Private Collection

The composition of the above painting is based on Poussin's Sleeping Venus and Cupid now in the Gemäldegalerie, Dresden, (below).

Pierre Dulin, or Pierre d’Ulin (17 September 1669 - 28 January 1748), was a French painter born in Paris. He was placed in a course at the Royal Academy of Painting under Bon Boullogne. Dulin won few prizes up to 1694, when he was aged 25. The following year, his teacher advised him to stand for the Academy's grand prize. He was admitted to the competition but did not win.

Undiscouraged, he tried again and won the next year with great distinction. His painting was found so much above what had been seen so far from him that there was suspicion of cheating. Before granting the prize to Dulin, the Academy asked that he prove his capacity to the Director, executing in his presence a work on a subject given by the Director. He passed this test successfully. The Academy excluded him from subsequent competitions as being too formidable an artist, and put him on the list of pupils to go to the Academy of Rome. 

However, work that he had undertaken for the Duke of Richelieu obliged him to defer the trip to Rome. The Duke loved the arts and artists, and felt this sentiment to a particular degree with Dulin, since he kept Dulin in his house, admitted him to his table and provided servants to look after him. The piece which brought him the greatest applause, and was seen as a wonder, was a painting he made in great secrecy after three paintings by Nicolas Poussin that represented pagan festivals and that were owned by Richelieu. Dulin chose a party in honor of Bacchus, which was composed and executed so much in the style of Poussin, that many connoisseurs there were taken in, ensuring that his new patron became one of his most zealous promoters. His reputation brought him to Mansart's attention, who engaged him and proposed he should not leave Paris, with an offer of working for the King and a recommendation to the Academy to receive him.

Dulin nevertheless placed great store on what he could learn in Italy. He arrived in Rome at the beginning of March 1700. He became absorbed in the study of the great works of art that had attracted him. Above all Raphael's paintings in the Vatican. 

Dulin made an altarpiece for the Dominicans in Rome on the subject of Saint Thomas Aquinas. This brought him into a special relationship with Antonin Cloche, general of the order, with whom he discussed principles of architecture, the proportions of the five orders, and initiated the theory of plans. During his stay in Rome, Dulin made several portraits that made his reputation. He was chosen to portray the Spanish ambassador to Rome. When his pension expired and he was preparing to return to France, he had a private audience with the Pope, who pressed him to stay in Rome. When Dulin resisted the Pope presented him with his portrait, set in a ring, ornamented with two rubies and some diamonds, and gave him several medals and relics.

Dulin was received by the Academy on 30 April 1707 with the painting "Laomedon punished by Apollo and Neptune" as his reception piece. Dulin was elected Assistant Professor on 26 October 1726. He died in Paris 28 January 1748. More

Nicolas Poussin
Sleeping Venus And Cupid, c. 1630
Oil on canvas
96 x 71 cm
Gemäldegalerie, Dresden, Germany

France’s Nicolas Poussin painted The Sleeping Venus and Cupid on oil on canvas. It was completed in 1630. Venus and Cupid shows a sleeping Venus with two cupids – one on either side of her. Venus’ brightness is in contrast to the duller surrounding figures and landscape which make the latter somewhat difficult to see. Cupid, in Roman mythology was Venus’ son, and the two cupids depicted in the painting are in close proximity to her. As the goddess of love, Venus was the “queen of pleasure” and considered mother of the Roman people. Watching over her near her head are two observers, possibly suitors or voyeurs. More

Nicolas Poussin (French: June 1594 – 19 November 1665) was the leading painter of the classical French Baroque style, although he spent most of his working life in Rome. His work is characterized by clarity, logic, and order, and favors line over color. Until the 20th century he remained a major inspiration for such classically oriented artists as Jacques-Louis David, Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres and Paul Cézanne.

He worked in Rome for a circle of leading collectors from there and elsewhere, except for a short period when Cardinal Richelieu ordered him back to France to serve as First Painter to the King. Most of his works are history paintings of religious or mythological subjects that very often have a large landscape element. More

PAUL-JACQUES-AIME BAUDRY (FRENCH 1828-1826)
The Resting Diana
Oil on canvas
56.5 x 74 cm (22 1/4 x 29 1/8 in.)
Private Collection

Paul-Jacques-Aimé Baudry (7 November 1828 – 17 January 1886) was a French painter, born in La Roche-sur-Yon in the Vendée. He studied art under Michel Martin Drolling and won the Prix de Rome in 1850 for his picture of Zenobia found on the banks of the Araxes.

His talent from the first revealed itself as strictly academical, full of elegance and grace, but somewhat lacking originality. In the course of his residence in Italy, Baudry derived strong inspiration from Italian art with the mannerism of Correggio, as was evident in the two works he exhibited in the Salon of 1857, which were purchased for the Luxembourg: The Martyrdom of a Vestal Virgin and The Child.

Once only did he attempt an historical picture, Charlotte Corday after the murder of Marat (1861); and returned by preference to the former class of subjects or to painting portraits of illustrious men of his day.

The works that crowned Baudry's reputation were his mural decorations, which show much imagination and a high artistic gift for color, as may be seen. in the frescoes in the Paris Court of Cassation. at the château of Chantilly, and some private residences the Hôtel Fould and Hôtel Paivabut, above all, in the decorations of the foyer of the Opera Garnier.

These, more than thirty paintings in all, and among them compositions figurative of dancing and music, occupied the painter for ten years. Baudry was a member of the Académie des beaux-arts, succeeding Jean-Victor Schnetz.


Baudry died in Paris in 1886. Two of his colleagues, Paul Dubois and Marius Jean Mercié, co-operating with his brother, Baudry the architect, erected his funeral monument in the Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris (1890). More

Giorgione (1477–1510) and Titian (1490–1576)
Sleeping Venus, c. 1508-10.
Oil on canvas
108.5 × 175 cm (42.7 × 68.9 in)
Current location
Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister 

Although nude figures (such as Botticelli's "Birth of Venus") had been painted before this one, this is probably the first nude to show a figure simply as a depiction of a nude. It is named "Venus" but has no traditional attributes (such as Cupid) to indicate that it represents a goddess. It was a break from tradition, and set a new subject for the artist, resulting in 20th century works such as the nudes of Francis Bacon and Henry Moore. More

Most central and typical of all of Giorgione's extant works is the Sleeping Venus now in Dresden. It was first recognized by Giovanni Morelli, and is now universally accepted, as being the same as the picture seen by Marcantonio Michiel and later by Ridolfi (his 17th century biographer) in the Casa Marcello at Venice. An exquisitely pure and severe rhythm of line and contour chastens the sensuous richness of the painting. The sweep of white drapery on which the goddess lies; and the glowing landscape that fills the space behind her; most harmoniously frame her divinity. The use of an external landscape to frame a nude is innovative; but in addition, to add to her mystery, she is shrouded in sleep, spirited away from accessibility to any conscious expression.

It is recorded that Giorgione left this piece unfinished and that the landscape, with a Cupid which subsequent restoration has removed, were completed after his death by Titian. The same concept of idealized beauty is evoked in a virginally pensive Judith from the Hermitage Museum, a large painting which exhibits Giorgione's special qualities of color richness and landscape romance, while demonstrating that life and death are each other's companions rather than foes (below). More

Giorgione (Giorgio Barbarelli da Castelfranco). 1478(?)-1510
Judith, c. 1504
Oil on canvas
144x68 cm
The State Hermitage Museum,  Sankt-Peterburg, Russia

The Book of Judith is the Old Testament of the Bible. The story revolves around Judith, a daring and beautiful widow, who is upset with her Jewish countrymen for not trusting God to deliver them from their foreign conquerors. She goes with her loyal maid to the camp of the enemy general, Holofernes, with whom she slowly ingratiates herself, promising him information on the Israelites. Gaining his trust, she is allowed access to his tent one night as he lies in a drunken stupor. She decapitates him, then takes his head back to her fearful countrymen. The Assyrians, having lost their leader, disperse, and Israel is saved. Though she is courted by many, Judith remains unmarried for the rest of her life. More

Giorgione (born Giorgio Barbarelli da Castelfranco; c. 1477/8–1510) was an Italian painter of the Venetian school in the High Renaissance from Venice, whose career was cut off by his death at a little over 30. Giorgione is known for the elusive poetic quality of his work, though only about six surviving paintings are acknowledged for certain to be his work. The resulting uncertainty about the identity and meaning of his art has made Giorgione one of the most mysterious figures in European painting.

Together with Titian, who was slightly younger, he is the founder of the distinctive Venetian school of Italian Renaissance painting, which achieves much of its effect through colour and mood, and is traditionally contrasted with the reliance on the more linear disegno-led style of Florentine painting. More

DONALD FRIEND (1915-1989)
Gods Disturbing Picnicking Mortals II ii)
Oil on board
29.5 x 39.5cm
Private Collection

Donald FRIEND  (1915-1989). studied with Datillo Rubbo at the Royal Art Society of New South Wales and under Bernard Meninsky and Mark Gertler at the Westminster School of Art, London. When the Second World War was declared he returned to Australia and joined the AIF, serving as an artillery gunner 1942-45 and as an official war artist in 1945. He wrote and illustrated two books based on his wartime experiences, Gunner’s Diary 1943 and Painter’s Journal 1946, which enhanced his reputation for versatility and wit. He spent much l of his life outside Australia including periods in Ceylon 1957-61 and Bali 1966 - 80. He had power and sensitivity as a draughtsman, with an ability to delineate forms in an almost calligraphic line, mixed with feeling for colour and design. More

DONALD FRIEND (1915-1989)
Rape of the Sabines
Oil on board
29.5 x 39.5cm
Private Collection


Rape of the Sabine Women is the common name of an incident from Roman mythology, in which the men of Rome committed a mass abduction of young women from the other cities in the region. It has been a frequent subject of artists, particularly during the Renaissance and post-Renaissance eras.

Use of the word "rape" comes from the conventional translation of the Latin word used in the ancient accounts of the incident: raptio. Modern scholars tend to interpret the word as "abduction" as opposed to (sexual) violation. Controversy remains, however, as to how the acts committed against the women should be judged.

The Rape occurred in the early history of Rome, shortly after its founding by Romulus and his mostly male followers. Seeking wives in order to establish families, the Romans negotiated unsuccessfully with the Sabines, who populated the surrounding area. The Sabines feared the emergence of a rival society and refused to allow their women to marry the Romans. Consequently, the Romans planned to abduct Sabine women during a festival of Neptune Equester. They planned and announced a marvelous festival to attract people from all nearby towns. According to Livy, many people from Rome's neighboring towns attended, including folk from the Caeninenses, Crustumini, and Antemnates, and many of the Sabines. At the festival, Romulus gave a signal, at which the Romans grabbed the Sabine women and fought off the Sabine men. The indignant abductees were soon implored by Romulus to accept Roman husbands. More

DAVID BOYD (1924-2011) 
Europa with Blue Roses 
Oil on paper on board 
6 x 37.5cm 
Private Collection


In Greek mythology Europa was the mother of King Minos of Crete, a woman with Phoenician origin of high lineage, and for whom the continent Europe was named. The story of her abduction by Zeus in the form of a white bull was a Cretan story; as classicist Károly Kerényi points out, "most of the love-stories concerning Zeus originated from more ancient tales describing his marriages with goddesses. This can especially be said of the story of Europa".

The mythographers tell that Zeus was enamored of Europa and decided to seduce or ravish her. He transformed himself into a tame white bull and mixed in with her father's herds. While Europa and her helpers were gathering flowers, she saw the bull, caressed his flanks, and eventually got onto his back. Zeus took that opportunity and ran to the sea and swam, with her on his back, to the island of Crete. He then revealed his true identity, and Europa became the first queen of Crete. More

EMANUEL PHILLIPS FOX (1865-1915) 
Nude and Satyr (Jupiter and Antiope) c.1911 
Oil on canvas 
65 x 81cm 
Private Collection


Antiope, mother of Amphion. In Greek mythology, Antiope was the daughter of the Boeotian river god Asopus, according to Homer; in later sources she is called the daughter of the "nocturnal" king Nycteus of Thebes or, in the Cypria, of Lycurgus, but for Homer her site is purely Boeotian. She was the mother of Amphion and Zethus.

Her beauty attracted Zeus, who, assuming the form of a satyr, took her by force. This is the sole mythic episode in which Zeus is transformed into a satyr. After this she was carried off by Epopeus, who was venerated as a hero in Sicyon; he would not give her up till compelled by her uncle Lycus.

On the way home she gave birth, in the neighbourhood of Eleutherae on Mount Cithaeron, to the twins Amphion and Zethus, of whom Amphion was the son of the god, and Zethus the son of Epopeus. Both were left to be brought up by herdsmen. At Thebes Antiope now suffered from the persecution of Dirce, the wife of Lycus, but at last escaped towards Eleutherae, and there found shelter, unknowingly, in the house where her two sons were living as herdsmen. This is the situation in Euripides' Antiope, which turns upon the recognition of mother and sons and their rescue of her. More

Emanuel Phillips Fox (1865–1915) was an influential and internationally-recognised painter in the impressionist style who contributed substantially to development of Australian plein air painting. Fox’s paintings are characterised by a commitment to direct visual experience; in Australia and Europe he painted and exhibited sun-drenched, vividly-coloured landscapes and scenes of everyday life animated by textured paint handling. More





Acknowledgement: Shapiro


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