Benedetto Luti (Firenze, 1666 - Roma, 1724)

Benedetto Luti (Florence, 1666 - Rome, 1724) Christ and Magdalene at the Feast in the House of Simon the wealthy Pharisee Oil on canvas 73 x 46 cm. - Framed 93 x 67 cm. Full details of the painting (click HERE) During a banquet in the house of the wealthy Pharisee Simon, attended by Jesus and his disciples, a woman, sincerely repentant of her sins and whom tradition has always identified with Mary Magdalene, came with a jar of perfumed oil (Gospel according to Luke, VII: 36-38); stopping behind him, she crouched at his feet and began to wet them with tears, then dried them with her hair and finally kissed them, perfuming them with the precious ointment. The Pharisee criticized Jesus for allowing such a sinful woman to touch him, but Jesus, turning to the woman, said to her: "Your sins are forgiven you. Your faith has saved you; go in peace." To the Pharisees, however, he replied, with these words: "Her many sins are forgiven, because she loved much. But he to whom little is forgiven loves little." The episode is extremely significant, an emblem of two totally opposing approaches to life, and the painting is conceived as a dramatic conflict between the Pharisees and Jesus: the world of material values and religious dogmatism of the Pharisees opposes the Christian world of sublime ideas and noble acts, a world of sympathy, charity, and goodness. Certain of the justice and morality of his position, Jesus and his disciples, in welcoming the words of their master, oppose the Pharisees, on whose faces can be read lack of understanding, annoyance, and even anger. The painting, of excellent quality, finds comparison with a canvas made by the Florentine painter Benedetto Luti around 1692 for the Florentine knight Giovanni Niccolò Berzighelli (oil on canvas, 305x198 cm), shortly after his arrival in Rome, as attested by three letters between Benedetto and his master DA Gabbiani, now in the English collection of Viscount Scarsdale at Kedleston Hall in Derbyshire. URL: https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/christ-and-mary-magdalene-in-the-house-of-simon-172138; A student in Rome of Maratta and one of the protagonists of Roman painting between the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, he developed his own personal style that led him to be one of the finest and earliest interpreters of Rococo painting, highly appreciated and requested. Our canvas is therefore a version, presumably made by the master himself or by one of his valid collaborators, which differs from the English one by presenting the parade plates behind the Christ. Instead, it finds affinities for this additional detail with the other version attributed to Benedetto Luti and today at the National Gallery of Umbria, Palazzo dei Priori (https://catalogo.cultura.gov.it/detail/HistoricOrArtisticProperty/1000016641). ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: The painting is sold complete with a pleasant gilded wooden frame and is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity and descriptive iconographic sheet. We handle and organize the transport of purchased works, both for Italy and abroad, through professional and insured carriers. In case of purchase of the work by non-Italian customers, it will be necessary to obtain an export permit which takes about 10/20 days, our gallery will take care of the entire phase up to obtaining it. All costs of this procedure are included. It is also possible to see the painting in the gallery in Riva del Garda, we will be happy to welcome you to show you our collection of works. Contact us, without obligation, for any additional information. Follow us also on: https://www.instagram.com/galleriacastelbarco/?hl=it https://www.facebook.com/galleriacastelbarco/