(Rome 1633–1689)
Christ and the Samaritan Woman at the well,
oil on canvas, 72 x 54 cm, unframed

Provenance:
Private collection, Spain

The present painting is an autograph variant of the painting formerly in the Barberini collection representing Christ and the Samaritan Woman, for which Ciro Ferri was paid 50 scudi by the Barberini family in 1672. The work, which today is in Vaduz, has a fascinating provenance: in 1712 it was documented in the collection of Adam Andreas I of Lichtenstein, while after various vicissitudes in the market, it was re-acquired by the Princes of Lichtenstein in 1986 (see B. Davis, The drawings of Ciro Ferri, New York 1986, p. 34, p. 60, note 109).

The variant presented here is datable to mid-1670 which is suggested by the ample space given to nature in the landscape setting, as well as by the accentuated influence of Maratti in the figures. The Barberini paintings by Ciro Ferri and Pietro da Cortona were greatly admired at the time, and this would justify the execution of autograph and studio variants.

Another version of the present painting (47 x 35 cm) was at Sotheby’s, New York, on 10th October 1991, lot 101, as Attributed to Ciro Ferri.

The present painting will be published in Maria Cristina Paoluzzi’s forthcoming monograph on the artist as a fully autograph work.

Provenance:
Private collection, Spain

The present painting is an autograph variant of the painting formerly in the Barberini collection representing Christ and the Samaritan Woman, for which Ciro Ferri was paid 50 scudi by the Barberini family in 1672. The work, which today is in Vaduz, has a fascinating Provenance:
in 1712 it was documented in the collection of Adam Andreas I of Lichtenstein, while after various vicissitudes in the market, it was re-acquired by the Princes of Lichtenstein in 1986 (see B. Davis, The drawings of Ciro Ferri, New York 1986, p. 34, p. 60, note 109).

The variant presented here is datable to mid-1670 which is suggested by the ample space given to nature in the landscape setting, as well as by the accentuated influence of Maratti in the figures. The Barberini paintings by Ciro Ferri and Pietro da Cortona were greatly admired at the time, and this would justify the execution of autograph and studio variants.

Another version of the present painting (47 x 35 cm) was at Sotheby’s, New York, on 10th October 1991, lot 101, as Attributed to Ciro Ferri.

The present painting will be published in Maria Cristina Paoluzzi’s forthcoming monograph on the artist as a fully autograph work.