SCARSELLINO
(b. ca. 1550, Ferrara, d. 1620, Ferrara)

The Discovery of Coral

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Oil on canvas, 42 x 50 cm
Private collection

This painting represents a refined example of Scarsellino’s output as a painter of mythological and profane subjects. The story of the discovery of coral is taken from Ovid's Metamorphoses. The Discovery of Coral adheres closely to the Ovidian text, which tells how Perseus brings the head of the recently vanquished Gorgon to a beach.