The Finding of Moses

Giovanni Montini was a pupil of the Florentine painter Jacopo Vignali, to whom this painting was once attributed. Montini was clearly an artist of considerable talent and ambition though his artistic personality has only been defined in recent times, with Chiara Oliveti’s 2001-2002 article providing a foundation for future studies. Having trained with Vignali from the mid-1620s, Montini embarked on an independent career about ten years later – his name is registered in the Academy of Drawing in Florence on 27 October 1637. Montini’s style is extremely close to that of his master Vignali, though the influence of Felice Ficherelli and Simone Pignoni is also evident in his later works. Between 1647 and 1666 Montini’s name frequently appears in the payment registers of Cardinal Carlo de’ Medici, for whom he acted as advisor as well as painter.

The Finding of Moses has a pendant of equally large dimensions that shows Rebecca and Eliezer at the Well (Luzzetti collection, Florence, and previously sold at Christie’s, New York, 21 May 1992, lot 83, as Lorenzo Lippi; Baldassari, op. cit.), suggesting that these two canvases must have been specifically commissioned from Montini.

We are grateful to Francesca Baldassari for endorsing the attribution to Montini and for her help in cataloguing this lot.