GB Chiari, “Jesus and the Samaritan Woman”, oil on canvas.

Giuseppe Bartolomeo Chiari, attributed (Rome or Lucca, 1654- Rome, 1727). “Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well”.
The painting depicts the story reported by the Gospel of John: Jesus, having to go from Judea to Galilee, had to cross Samaria, where Jacob's well was, near which Christ stopped to rest. Having noticed a woman (the Samaritan woman, in fact) intent on drawing water, Jesus asked her for a drink.
The painting in question seems to immortalize this moment, and the artist's attention is fixed on the woman's amazement at being questioned, since, in those times, the Samaritans were not looked upon favorably by the Jews. In the background on the right, two characters appear, one younger and one older, probably two apostles who go to the nearby village of Sychar to stock up on supplies.
The scene and the beautiful landscape piece are immersed in a warm evening or late midday light.
Giuseppe Bartolomeo Chiari was Maratta's most talented pupil, to whom he was in many ways indebted, but in the mature phase of his career, he distanced himself from the grandiloquent tones of the Roman Baroque to adhere to a more intimate vision of painting, as the painting in examination: the monumentality of the forms is abandoned, the composition becomes more airy, the pictorial ductus becomes softer, the palette softens, to the point of taking on pastel tones, almost as if presaging the chromatic liquescences of the Rococo period.
The rendering of the faces, with sweet and delicate features, recall Pietro da Cortona, while the classical taste of the landscape recalls Baciccio. These elements suggest a dating of the painting around the first twenty years of the 18th century.
The work is in an excellent state of conservation. there are no noteworthy restorations or pictorial reinstatements. The beautiful gilded wooden frame is not contemporary, but made in the 19th century. Reinforcement relining carried out during the 20th century.
Provenance: Private collection.
Certification of originality is issued in accordance with the law.