Christ and the Samaritan Woman, Ludovico Pozzoserrato (Antwerp 1550 – Treviso 1605)

Oil on the table

The subject illustrated in this refined painting is taken from the Gospel of John (4, 6-10), where it is told of Jesus who, tired from the journey to Galilee, asked a Samaritan woman, notoriously hostile to a Jew, to offer him a drink 'water from Jacob's well, promising her in exchange 'water capable of quenching her thirst for eternity'.

The theme (one of the most anciently frequented in counter-reformist Christian art) celebrated the main concepts of the Council of Trent: the meeting with the Samaritan woman has the symbolic meaning of the innovation brought by Christ who offers the good news even to those who are not considered pure Jew. Even the place of the event, rather unusual and certainly not religious, according to biblical tradition, was rich in meanings and historical evocations of salvation.

The scene takes place within a landscape depicting, according to the New Testament story, the city of Sychar, the place where the Samaritan woman will arrive to announce the coming of the new Messiah.

In these compositions we can glimpse a strong Flemish influence, very likely for Venetian artists given the massive presence in the lagoon city during the sixteenth century of artists from Flanders and the Netherlands, whose art made up of a strong culture for minute details comes here combined with Venetian colorism and the plastic turning of the figures typical of the art of central and northern Italy of those years.

In particular, we are inclined to attribute its work to Ludovico Pozzoserrato, an Italianization of Lodewyk Toeput (Antwerp, circa 1550 – Treviso, 1605).

Originally from Antwerp, he arrived in Venice around 1582, with short stays also in Florence and Rome. His pictorial value is well highlighted by the critical and commercial success achieved early in the lagoon city, facilitated by a talent capable of adapting his Nordic training to the Venetian landscape, reaching a synthesis of rare mastery and sensitivity. We can also say that Ludovico was able to grasp the 'international' character of the elegant and cultured mannerism of Jacopo Tintoretto and Paolo Veronese, who found in him a very talented interlocutor.

The conservation conditions of the work appear very good. The painting is sold together with a pleasant golden frame.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

The work is sold accompanied by a certificate of authenticity and descriptive iconographic card.

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