Caravaggista school; 17th century.

Caravaggista school; 17th century.
"The healing of a man with dropsy"".
Oil on canvas. Relined.
It presents Repainting and restorations on the pictorial surface.
Measurements: 94 x 129 cm; 112 x 145 cm (frame).
The healing of the hydropic is one of the miracles attributed to Jesus in the Gospel according to St. Luke, according to the story, one Saturday Jesus had entered the house of one of the chiefs of the Pharisees to have lunch and there a hydropic man was presented to him. Addressing the doctors of the law and the Pharisees, Jesus said, "Is it lawful or not to heal on the Sabbath?" But they were silent. Then he took him by the hand, healed him, and sent him away. Then he said to them, "Which of you, if an ass or an ox falls into the well, will not immediately pull him out on the Sabbath day?" And they could answer nothing to these words.

The palette and qualities denote the influence of the Italian Caravaggist school of the 17th century. The skillful handling of chiaroscuro lends drama to the scene while naturally defining the space. The emphasis on expressiveness is also a Caravaggist device. Stylistically, the work shows a clear influence of Caravaggio and the followers of his style, for example; Gregorio Preti (Taverna, Italy 1603 - Rome, 1672), brother of Mattia Preti. He was a pupil first of Spagnoletto and then of Domenichino, the latter a teacher of Giacinto Brandi and also of Mattia Preti. It follows that, if Gregorio arrived in Rome in 1624, he did so in time to attend the Accademia del Domenichino before leaving for Naples in 1630. From 1632, and for forty years, he was a member of the Accademia di San Luca and of the Congregazione dei Virtuosi al Pantheon.In Rome he probably enjoyed the protection of the Aldobrandini family, lords of Rossano in Calabria, which favored his relationships with important collectors. Between 1632 and 1636 he lived with his brother, for whom he worked as a teacher for a time, to the detriment of his own career.