Paradise

Carlo Saraceni

ca. 1598 · Oil on copper · European Paintings

Saraceni probably painted this oil on copper soon after his arrival in Rome from Venice around 1598 and in response specifically to Francesco Bassano’s altarpiece representing this subject in the Roman Church of the Gesù. The influence of Venetian artists remains strong in terms of composition, but the stylistic impact of northern artists active in Rome is already striking, notably from the paintings of Adam Elsheimer, who frequently worked on copper and used its hard surface to meticulously render complex forms at a small scale. This painting’s patron is unknown, but he is probably portrayed as the man looking out from composition’s bottom left.

Artist

Carlo Saraceni

Date

ca. 1598

Medium

Oil on copper

Department

European Paintings

Credit line

Theodore M. Davis Collection, Bequest of Theodore M. Davis, by exchange, 1971