(Rome 1585–1652)
The prophecy of the Moirae on the fate of the young Meleager, oil on canvas, 37.5 x 49.5 cm, framed,

Certificate: Gianni Papi. In this picture Caroselli was illustrating a mythological scene which was rarely depicted. Shown is the the moment when one of the Moirae or Fates speaks to Althaia, Queen of Calydon, and tells her that her little son, Meleager will live as long as the brand on the fire keeps burning. The dismayed mother rescues the brand from the fire, in order not to endanger the life of her son and keeps it safely. As an adult, Meleager slays the Calydonian Boar which has been laying waste to the land. The trophy, the hide of the boar, was stolen away by his mother’s brothers, whom he subsequently killed in anger. In order to avenge them, Althaia set light to the brand and Meleager died, as the prophecy had foretold. Gianni Papi describes the warm, luminous coloration with its light accents as typical of the work of the Caravaggio pupil, Caroselli. He sees stylistic parallels with the altarpiece image of St. Wencelaus in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, and with a ‘Holy Family with St. Francis’ (collection of the Banca di Napoli). He cites other comparisons as being Caroselli’s ‘Madonna with Child and St. Anne’ in Koelliker Collection, Milan, and a ‘Vanitas’ in the Galleria Corsini, Rome. He describes the remarkable naturalism and a certain tendency towards esotericism as typical. As regards the dating of the present painting, Papi remarks that it was probably produced between 1610 and 1620.