FRANCESCHINI, Baldassarre
(b. 1611, Volterra, d. 1690, Firenze)

One of Father Arlotto's Tricks

c.1640
Tempera on canvas, 107 x 150 cm
Galleria Palatina (Palazzo Pitti), Florence

Arlotto Mainardi was a fourteenth-century parish priest who was close to the Medici, especially at their country seat at Careggi. After he died, a friend published a collection of his shrewd practical jokes and words of wisdom. These are very much in the Florentine tradition. The pleasure of seeing the foolish outwitted was still alive and well in seventeenth-century Florence.

The canvas, also known as The trick of the wine, is one of the most famous works by Il Volterranno, the nickname of Baldassarre Franceschini, one of the most skilled and original artists of seventeenth century Florence.

The episode is set in Florence, a short distance away from Villa della Mula (visible in the background). In the scene, at a meal with other young priests Arlotto is invited by the host to go to the cellar to tap wine from the cask. Resentful of being chosen to tackle the stairs rather than the younger men, the practical joker decides to take his revenge. The scene captures the climax of the good-natured joke. Arlotto returns to the table with a full carafe of wine and claims to have forgotten to close the tap on the keg, provoking the agitated reaction of the host who can be seen leaping from his chair to run down to repair the damage while his companions look on in astonishment and amusement.

The expressive clarity of the faces and mannerisms of the figures demonstrates Il Volterrano's characteristic narrative flair, as well as evidencing his influence from Pietro da Cortona, a leading figure in the development of decorative Baroque architecture who at that time was working on the famous Planets Rooms in the Pitti Palace.




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