GIOVANNI BATTISTA MERANO (Genoa, 1632 - Piacenza, 1698) Roman Charity Oil on canvas, 98X123 cm Provenance: Private collection The painting depicts the episode of Cimone and his daughter Pero as narrated by the Roman historian Valerianus Maximus (1st century AD) in his work entitled Fatti e detti memorabili. It is visibly an allegory of filial love and the theme was much frequented by Italian and Flemish artists in the Baroque era. In our case, the pictorial texture, the colours and the ductus of the brushstrokes suggest without hesitation the attribution to Giovanni Battista Merano. These considerations allow us to catalogue the painting as one of his best interpretations and an appreciable piece for understanding the evolution of Ligurian Baroque in the mid-century of which Merano was certainly a protagonist. Scrutinising his already known production, we ascertain that the theme of Roman Charity was only tackled once by the artist, in fact, Mary Newcome's catalogue raisonné records a canvas in portrait format and the figures in full, suggesting, in the wake of Alizeri, its probable provenance from the collections of Antonio Elena (cf. Newcome 2010, p. 97, no. 64). That said, the 19th-century scholar does not specify the format or other details and, consequently, it is possible that the painting he cites is this one (Alizeri, 1846, p. 443). Thanks are due to Camillo Manzitti for the attribution. Reference bibliography: R. Soprani, C. G. Ratti, Vite de' pittori scultori ed architetti genovesi, I, Genoa 1768, pp. 270, 285, 348; II, ibid. 1769, pp. 61; 68, 147, 162 F. Alizeri, Guida Artistica per la Città di Genova, Genoa 1846, I, p. 443 M. Newcome, G. Cirillo, Giovanni Battista Merano, Turin 2010, ad vocem A. Marengo, A. Orlando, Giovanni Battista Merano allievo di Valerio. Metodo e stile dall'abbozzo all'affresco, in Valerio Castello. Percorsi di approfondimento, Atti del convegno del 5-6 giugno 2008, edited by L. Leoncini and D. Sanguineti, Alessandria 2010, pp. 209-223