(Verona 1578–1649 Rome)
The Baptism of Christ,
oil on canvas, 65.5 x 50 cm, framed

Provenance:
probably collection of Cardinal Richelieu;
Private collection, France;
where acquired by the present owner

We are grateful to Daniela Scaglietti Kelescian for confirming the attribution of the present painting on the basis of a photograph.

The present painting is previously unknown and as such it is an important addition to the oeuvre of Alessandro Turchi. It is an early composition executed when the artist was still living in his native city of Verona, before his departure for Rome, where he is documented from 1616.

Turchi attained his formative training in the studio of the late Mannerist painter Felice Brusasorci in Verona, in a very lively cultural ambient that had seen the emergence of various celebrated painters, and first among them, Paolo Veronese. By the first decade of the seventeenth century, Turchi had already received some independent commissions for religious works form the Accademia Filarmonica, a powerful cultural institution with which he had come into contact through his master, Brusasorci. On the Accademia’s behalf, in 1606 he was charged with painting the organ doors that are today conserved in the Royal Collection, Windsor Castle (inv. no. RCIN 403950-403952, 402849). Turchi’s establishment as an artist was also certainly enhanced by the private commissions he received from the academicians of the philharmonic, and by his own nomination to this Academy in 1609. The precocious fame attained by the artist is witnessed by his celebration in La Pittura Trionfans of 1615 by Giulio Cesare Gigli of Brescia. It is in this context that the creation of the painting under discussion likely belongs. It represents the powerful figure of Saint John the Baptist wrapped in a voluminous bright red mantle as he baptises Christ, while animated angels attend the sacred scene, arranged on the clouds above in a variety of poses, lending great dynamism to the solemn event.

Alessandro Turchi’s career reached its point of greatest momentum in Rome and his ascent is marked by prestigious commissions and the support of illustrious patrons, including Cardinal Scipione Borghese. Nevertheless, the artist never abandoned his professional ties with Verona, and he additionally attained favour in other regions of Italy, as well as in France.