Francesco Furini (1600–1646), bottega di - Carità

FRANCESCO FURINI [Workshop of]
(Florence, 1600 – 1646)
Charity
Oil on canvas, cm. 87 x 70. 5

NOTE: Publication of the catalog of works from the Intermidiart collection. Unsigned work. Certificate of Guarantee and Lawful Origin. Work without frame:

The layout of this figure is completely similar to that of the so-called Charity in the National Gallery of Dublin (oil on canvas, 75 x 58 cm) created by Francesco Furini (Florence, 1600 – 1646) between 1635 and 1640, and replicas - of the same subject and made by the workshop with the same model - such as the one preserved in the Deposits of the Uffizi Gallery (oil on canvas 68 x 61 cm) and the one sold at Sotheby's in London (oil on canvas 68 x 61 cm. 71 x 57, 13 December 1978, n. 281) .
Ripa's description of Charity does not correspond to the iconography of this painting which sees a female image in the act of squeezing a breast with her left hand, while holding out a coin with her right. Denominated with this name, the allegory would seem more in keeping with that of Benignity, who however presses her breasts with both hands. In any case, it is certain that Furini, behind the image of cultured and rare iconology, takes inspiration for a sensual female representation.
Revealed by the light, the figure emerges half-length from the shadow of the background, seen in three-quarters, while looking downwards to the right. It imposes itself with its physical presence, composed within oval profiles and characterized by the decisive features of the face which contrast, as in an oxymoron, the psychological distance from the observer, marked by the temperate expression and the gaze that flees to the side, withdrawing from the encounter, as if suddenly attracted by something that is not part of our universe.
The work, which is a typical expression of the language and poetics of Francesco Furini and his workshop, is characterized like most of the artist's paintings, for the particular dosage of light and shadow, for the sensual languor of the figure and for the original formulation of the profile of the female character, recurring, in fact, in various effigies by the same author, for greater morphological affinities, those of some figures present in other paintings by the Florentine master.
Nonetheless, the present canvas has slight differences in physiognomy and dimensions, with some failures in quality which could depend both on the mediocre state of conservation and on the banalization that is usually found in copies made by the master's workshop. Both versions cited above are dated by critics to the end of the 1630s.
Born in Florence in 1603, Furini, after the first artistic teachings imparted by his father Filippo (a painter now unknown) , had, in different periods, the opportunity to study and broaden his professional preparation in the studies of some of the most qualified local masters of the time, namely Cristofano Allori, Passignano and Giovanni Bilivert, through whom he learned important pictorial notions. Like many young artists of his contemporaries, Francesco also completed his education in Rome, where, having arrived in 1619, he appears documented for a certain period in the school of the Caravaggesque Bartolomeo Manfredi. Upon his return to his homeland, which occurred three years later, the artist, after an initial operational period in the entourage of Matteo Rosselli, began an independent activity around 1625, attested, in that year, by his registration with the Academy of Drawing. Having remained permanently in Tuscany, after a trip to Venice in 1629, Furini quickly distinguished himself for a highly refined artistic language, reconciling the study of Antiquity with the new interests of local painting, in which exegetical references to Leonardesque lessons were not exempt and correct it. Author of intriguing mythological fables, seductive allegorical images and elegant sacred depictions, the artist was, over the years, much sought after by the most exclusive Florentine clients, among whom, not surprisingly, also the most cultured members of the House Doctors. His entry into the ecclesiastical world, which occurred in 1633, did not prevent the artist from continuing his activity at a rapid pace, increasingly oriented towards a type of soft and gently nuanced painting, characterized largely by languid and mischievously sensual images. Loaded with honors, Francesco Furini, whose style remained alive in his students until almost the end of the century, died in his hometown in 1646 (for the artist see above all Another beauty. Francesco Furini, exhibition catalog edited by M Gregori and R. Maffeis, Florence, 2007; S. Bellesi, Catalog of Florentine painters of the 17th and 18th centuries. Biographies and works, Florence, 2009, I, pp. 153-155 and II, figures 691-707; G. Cantelli, Francesco Furini and the furinians, Pontedera/Pisa, 2010) .
Regarding its state of conservation, the canvas is in fairly good general condition considering the age of the painting, the pictorial surface shows a patina of paint. We can see - in Wood's light - some scattered restorations and some light unraveling and oxidation of the pictorial surface, but nothing really significant. There are no conservation problems and the original canvas has an old relining, which does not appear to require intervention. In sunlight, a fine crackle related to the era and some small loss of color are visible. The frame may have been replaced at the time of the relining. The painting - of good pictorial quality - is very interesting both for its iconographic setting and for the application of colours, synonymous with an artist of great interpretative quality, and for this reason, the painting may require further study of attribution . The measurements of the canvas are cm. 87 x 70. 5. The painting is sold without a frame, although it is embellished with a valuable antique (?) carved and gilded wooden frame of great value (frame size, approx. 115 x 99 x 6, presence of small defects) . The work will be shipped - as it is fragile - in a wooden and polystyrene case.

Provenance: Coll. Private

Publication:
Unpublished;
The Myths and the Territory in Sicily with a thousand cultures. UNPUBLISHED PAINTINGS general catalog of paintings from the collection of the “Myths and the territory” cycle, Publisher Lab_04, Marsala, 2024.

In the case of sales outside Italian territory, the buyer will have to wait for the export procedures to be processed.