(Venice 1849–1887)
Susanna and the Elders, signed G. Favretto, oil on canvas, 90 x 145 cm, framed

Provenance:
Galleria Pesaro, Milan;
Private Collection, Italy.

Compare:
Renzo Trevisan, Giacomo Favretto 1849-1887, Venice 1999, p. 170 (Susanna e i due vecchi).

A certificate issued by Enrico Somaré, 8 October 1944, available upon request.

Giacomo Favretto was born in Venice in 1849 to a family of humble origins. Thanks to the help of some benefactors, he enrolled in the Accademia di Belli Arti in Venice in 1864, where he studied painting with Pompeo Molmenti, figurative art with Michelangelo Grigoletti, and landscape painting with Domenico Bresolin. He painted scenes of family and popular life. He distinguished himself by obtaining numerous awards, and exhibited tirelessly, including showing two paintings at the Universal Exhibition in Paris in 1878. The paintings of the 1880’s mark Favretto's artistic maturity and his participation in several important public exhibitions. The first version of the painting Susanna and the Elders was exhibited in Turin in 1884. A second version from 1885 was purchased at the 3rd Venice Biennale in 1899 by the Hungarian government for the Modern Gallery in Budapest. The title of the painting takes its cue from Favretto's very personal interpretation of the biblical episode of Susanna and the Elders.