Moretti Fine Art: Seicento Fiorentino: Sacred and Profane Allegories - 1 to 25 May, New York

Moretti Fine Art will stage their fifth exhibition of Italian Old Masters, SEICENTO FIORENTINO: Sacred and Profane Allegories at the New York gallery at 24 East 80th Street from 1 to 25 May 2012.  The Seicento, or the 17th century, refers to Italian cultural and social history during this tumultuous period, characterised by several wars, conflicts and invasions as well as the patronage of the arts and architecture.  It was also the period which saw the end of the Renaissance and the beginning of the Counter Reformation and the Baroque era together with advancements in Italian science, philosophy and technology.

One of the highlights of the exhibition, Susanna at the Bath with Maids by Ottavio Vannini (1585-1644), is a glorious example of the work of this iconic Florentine artist.  Born in Florence, he trained in Rome under Anastasio Fuontebuoni and in Florence under Domenico Passignani.  This picture presents Susanna at a well, bathing with the help of her handmaidens while the two elders in the background are plotting to falsely accuse her of adultery.  The large marble fountain is reminiscent of the Ferrucci fountain at Palazzo Pitti. (price $475,000)  This date of the painting corresponds to the artist’s return to Florence for the execution of the fresco at the Villa of the Imperial Hill (Villa del Poggio Imperiale) and that of his well-known work Rebecca and Eliezer at the Well, c.1626-27, now in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna.