The Samaritan at the well

La Samaritana al pozzo

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Author/ School/ Dating:

Gregorio De Ferrari (Genova, 1647-1726)

Technique and Dimensions:

Oil on canvas, cm. 78 x 106

Location:

Genova, Musei di Strada Nuova - Palazzo Bianco, inv. PR 375

Provenance:

From 1947 in the collections from the church of S. Camillo

Recognized as a prominent figure in Casa Piola, Gregorio De Ferrari is the author of this canvas depicting the Samaritan woman at the Well. The dynamism of the figures veiled by a subtle melancholy, the careful compositional choice that renews the traditional schemes, the discreet reference to illustrious models give account of the artist’s heterogeneous artistic culture, which certainly does not end in the local context. Before establishing a lasting and fruitful collaboration with Domenico Piola, the artist, trained in the Genoese workshop of Domenico Fiasella, has the opportunity to stay in Parma, Florence, Rome, where he can study the painting of undisputed masters.The contact with the great European Baroque season is particularly evident in the original space research that characterizes the large decorative companies commissioned to Gregorio after his final return to Genoa. Not only in stately homes like Palazzo Rosso, but also in the most important Genoese churches