(Verona 1524–1606)
Saint John the Evangelist,
signed lower center left: paulo. farinato. f(ecit) and dated bottom right: 1567,
oil on panel, 61 x 47 cm, framed

Provenance:
Private collection, France, 19th Century;
Private collection, Graz, by 1924;
Private European collection

Literature:
J. B. P. Lebrun, Recueil de Gravures au trait, a l’eau forte, et ombrées, d’après un choix de tableaux de toutes le ècoles, recueilles dans en voyage fait en espagne, au midi de la France et en Italie, dans les années 1807 et 1808, Paris 1809, Book I, p. 90, plate 67

The present painting is a significant addition to Paolo Farinati’s catalogue and dates to the period in which he was mostly influenced by Mannerism. Parmigianino´s influence is evident in the present painting. The shell is known as Farinati´s symbol.

The composition is similar to etchings by Farinati and having the same signature and dated 1567 (see Bartsch XVI.165.3) and to a drawing (SL 5224.69) in the British Museum in London (see G. AlbricciI, Le incisioni di Paolo e Orazio Farinati, in ‘Saggi e Memorie di Storia dell’Arte’, 12, (1980), p. 19, cat.3), which are considered to be preparatory drafts for a lost pennant, commissioned in 1576 by Girolamo della Torre for the church of San Giovanni di Foro in Verona, and mentioned in the painter’s memoirs (see L. Puppi, Paolo Farinati: Giornale (1573–1606), Florence 1968, p. 19).

The present painting can only be compared to other works by Farinati’s including the Adoration of the Magi in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam (SK-C-1352) and is also similar to his graphic production. The work has the same unique combination of the pictorial fluency typical of the Venetian masters, and the youthful style of Veronese as well as the Mannerist formalism inspired by the greatest examples of Michelangelo, Taddeo Zuccari and Parmigianino.