Bernardo Strozzi (1581 – 1644), Allegory of painting, 1630s, Oil on canvas, 130 x 94 cm, Palazzo Spinola, Genoa, on loan from Galleria Giamblanco, Turin
Having entered the Capuchin monastery at seventeen, Strozzi spent the formative years of his career producing religious works constrained by the boundaries of monastic life. In 1630, following accusations of secular practices and a serious conflict with his superiors, he abandoned his religious vocation in Genoa. During this period, he worked for several prominent Genoese patrons, creating paintings and decorative frescoes for palaces and churches while supporting his mother and unmarried sister. Notably, many of his commissions at this time were secular, signalling a broadening of his artistic focus. After the death of his mother, Strozzi refused to return to the monastery, a decision which resulted in his imprisonment. Upon his release, he relocated to Venice, where he found new artistic freedom.
Strozzi’s move to Venice proved to be a decisive turning point in his personal life and artistic career. It allowed him to explore portraiture and genre painting with a degree of liberty previously denied him. His engagement with Venetian traditions, particularly the influence of Paolo Veronese, is evident in this work and its more elaborate counterpart held in the Hermitage. Nevertheless, Strozzi’s interpretation is distinctly more sensual and humanised, revealing his immersion in the broader Caravaggesque style.
The depiction of the allegory of Painting as a sensual, ordinary woman with flowing hair and flushed cheeks marks a striking departure from the more restrained devotional works of Strozzi’s earlier career. This painting, created in Venice, can be seen as emblematic of the artist’s liberation, both artistically and personally, following his tumultuous departure from the Capuchin order in Genoa.