Susanna and the Elders; and Lot and his Daughters

Best known for his large-scale biblical history paintings, of which the present two canvases are characteristic examples, Felice Torelli was an important exponent of the Counter-Reformation idiom in Bologna. Though born in Verona, where he began his artistic training, Felice soon moved along with his brother Giuseppe to Bologna, where he pursued his interest in music and painting, becoming a frequent visitor to the studios of contemporary painters and an important member of the artistic community. Torelli's art was also fundamentally shaped by the revolutionary works of earlier Bolognese painters, particularly the Carracci family, whose works continued to be readily accessible in that city. Towards the end of his career, Torelli's pupils included some of the most brilliant Bolognese painters of the second half of the 18th century, including Ubaldo and Gaetano Gandolfi.