Giacomo Farelli, 1624 Rom – 1706 Neapel Lot n° 247

ALLEGORY OF CARITAS Oil on canvas. Doubled. 204 x 98 cm. In wide marbled frame. Attached an expert opinion by Nicola Spinosa, Naples, no date, copy. The large-format canvas shows, in front of an architectural set piece, the allegorical figure of a young woman about to nurture three children who are playing around her. Farelli was a pupil of Andrea Vaccaro, but soon followed the style of Guido Reni (1575-1642) and Luca Giordano (1643-1705). Many of his paintings, in fresco or on canvas, are steeped in sacred themes and are found in the churches of Naples. His first known altarpiece in the Chiesa dell'Arciconfraternita della Trinità dei Pellegrini is signed by him and dated 1652. A painting of Bathsheba in the bath, which is approximately the same dimensions as the work offered here, is in a private Italian collection and is dated by Spinosa to c. 1676-1683. In 1693 Farelli moved to Pisa, where he decorated the Palazzo Pubblico - here he used representations of biblical, historical but also mythological content. A depiction of Venus and Adonis, for example, can be found in Melfi in Basilicata, a "Samson and Dalila" and a "Rape of the Sabine Women" are in a private collection. Literature: Cf. Achille della Ragione, Giacomo Farelli: Opera completa, Naples 2011. (1281185) (2) (13) Giacomo Farelli, 1624 Rome - 1706 Naples ALLEGORY OF CARITAS Oil on canvas. Relined. 204 x 98 cm. Accompanied by a copy of an expert's report by Nicola Spinosa, Naples, n.d. Literature: cf. Achille della Regione, Giacomo Farelli: Opera completa, Naples 2011.