Rebecca at the Well

Girolamo Pesci was a pupil of Carlo Maratta and later of Francesco Trevisani, both of whom were to have a lasting influence on his artistic output. Pesci is known primarily for his large-scale religious work including commissions for the altarpiece in Spirito Santo de Carignano in 1713, the vaulted frescoes in the sacristy of San Onofrio, Rome, and the huge ceiling fresco in Santa Maria Maddalena, Rome. Giancarlo Sestieri points out that Pesci's delicate style was more suited to smaller-scale cabinet paintings, of which relatively few are known (see G. Sestieri, Repertorio della Pittura Romana della fine del Seicento e del Settecento, Rome, 1994, I, p. 146). This hitherto unrecorded work is one of the finest examples of the artist working on this intimate scale.

We are grateful to Professor Giancarlo Sestieri for confirming the attribution after inspecting the picture in the original.