Donato Creti (Cremona, 1671 - Bologna, 1749)
Charity, 1719/1721 ca
oil on copper; inv. P 30
provenance: Bequest of Marcantonio Collina Sbaraglia to the Senate, 1744
This is the first painting of the group of four Virtues ( no. 4 - 5 - 9
- 10 ).
Charity is one of Creti’s most pleasant works, it probably
portrays Creti's wife, Francesca Zani, along with the couple's three
young sons.
Charity is represented, according to tradition, as a woman draped in
red surrounded by three children. This is the most naturalistic of the
four allegories painted by Creti in oil on copper. Thanks to the copper
support and the dense application of paint, the colors have not
altered. The balance of the composition remains perfect, even among the
strongly contrasting hues of red, blue, white and green.
In this painting Creti elevates daily life to an ideal vision without
completely losing its natural warmth. He skillfully combines Venetian
sense of color with the academic Bolognese tradition, in a never ending
pursuit of perfection and beauty.
