Offered by Antichità Castelbarco
Giacomo Cavedoni (Sassuolo, 1577 – Bologna, 1660) Workshop of
Rebecca at the Well
Oil on canvas 111 x 150 cm. - Framed (19th century, minor losses and imperfections) 124 x 161 cm.
The painting depicts the biblical episode of “Rebecca at the Well,” taken from the Book of Genesis (Genesis 22:23), which recounts that Eliezer, Abraham’s most faithful servant, is sent to find a suitable wife for his son Isaac to ensure the continuation of his lineage.
He sets out with a caravan of ten camels and a chest of precious gifts, and upon arriving near a well—exhausted and thirsty—a young woman named Rebecca offers him water and also tends to his camels.
Isaac interprets her kindness as a divine sign, thus recognizing in the young woman the bride chosen by God for Isaac and presenting her with the precious jewels he had been keeping.
The scene captures the moment when Rebecca—beautiful and sumptuously dressed, with her hair gathered in a style accented by a red ribbon—accepts the gift with great enthusiasm and shows the bracelets to her maidservants.
This work of exceptional quality is based on a famous composition by the Modena painter Giacomo Cavedoni (1577–1660), which enjoyed enormous success even in its own time and became the formal prototype for numerous replicas and variations produced by his workshop.
In particular, the original model is historically linked to the version now housed in the Burghley Collections in Stamford (Lincolnshire), one of the most important and best-preserved private art collections from the Elizabethan and Baroque periods.
Historically owned by the Barberini family of Rome (and initially attributed to Agostino Carracci), it was later purchased by Brownlow, 9th Earl of Exeter (1725–1793), who brought it into his English collection, where it is now cataloged as the work of a follower of Cavedoni [1].
The painting in the Burghley Collection is technically identical to ours, with almost imperceptible differences, even in its dimensions (112 cm x 150.5 cm), so much so that we can assume both are versions produced by the workshop during the same period.
The work fully reflects the dramatic style and the gestures of the figures typical of Giacomo Cavedoni, showcasing his complex and refined pictorial language, capable of sublimely blending three distinct influences—Emilian, Roman, and Venetian—which he incorporated throughout his career.
More specifically, we see the classicist rigor of the Emilian school that he absorbed through his collaboration with Ludovico Carracci, with its characteristic solidity of form, mastery of draftsmanship, and monumental structure of the compositions.
This blends with the Caravaggesque realism he inherited during his stay in Rome in 1609, which imbues his compositions—such as the one presented here—with strong contrasts of light; and finally, Venetian colorism, which he learned firsthand during his stay in Venice between 1612 and 1613 while studying the masterpieces of Titian and Veronese. [1]
Delevery information :
We take care of and organise the transport of the purchased works, both for Italy and abroad, through professional and insured carriers.
We take great care We personally take care of the packaging, to which we devote a great deal of care: each work is carefully packed, first with arti- cle material, then with a custom-made wooden box.
Should you have the desire to see this or other works in person, we would be happy to welcome you to our gallery in Riva del Garda, Viale Giuseppe Canella 18, we are always open by appointment only.
