MICHELE ROCCA (Italian, c. 1670 -c. 1751)

Known as Il Parmigianino (Michele da Parma)
La Bocca della VeritÃ
Oil on canvas
Size: 28.5 x 34 in.

Proveance: Private Collection, Toronto; by descent.

We are grateful to Professor Giancarlo Sestieri for confirmation of the attribution. Sale of this lot will include an expert report in Italian prepared by Dr. Sestieri.

The subject of the painting depicts the ancient Roman legend of the Bocca della Verità , or Mouth of Truth, based on a stone mask with the face of an ancient God displayed against a portico wall in the The Basilica of Saint Mary in Cosmedin. As the legend goes, the test of a liar is to insert a hand into the mouth of the mask and a liar will have their hand bitten- a kind of ancient lie detector.

In this composition, a judge in the robes of a Roman priest appears to be pushing the hand of the suspect, a young girl draped in a blue robe, into the Mouth of Truth. A large crowd of bystanders dressed in colourful Roman styles await the verdict with acute curiosity.

The painting was likely created in Rome in the first three decades of the eighteenth century, where Rocca had an active clientele. This composition was presumably popular among his patrons as it is featured prominently in his repertoire. This example is distinguished from other known examples in the rendering of the individual characters and their clothing. It is also larger than other recorded examples, including three which are illustrated in Sestieri's monograph (see page 230, no. 44A, 44B and 44C.)

Literature: G. Sestieri, Michele Rocca e la pittura rococò a Roma, Rome 2004, p.73, 230- 231.
Condition Report: Condition report available upon request.