Christ and the Samaritan woman: a dismembered painting by Stefano Torelli and the art de plaire of Étienne-Maurice Falconet at the court of Empress Catherine II of Russia

Abstract

A photograph kept at the Fondazione Federico Zeri records the existence of a painting by Stefano Torelli, representing Christ and the Samaritan woman, signed and dated 1774, of which so far just one fragment of the figure of Jesus was known (art market, 1992): the discovery offers the opportunity for an in-depth study of the late production of the Bolognese painter, which reveals his interests in the artistic culture of Louis XV's France, strengthened during the long period of career he spent at the court of Catherine II of Russia. The arrival of Étienne-Maurice Falconet in St. Petersburg in 1766 reawakened Torelli's attraction for the enchanting "art de plaire" developed in Paris by the great sculptor, already a collaborator in Sèvres of François Boucher, the "painter of graces".