GIROLAMO MACCHIETTI (attr. to) (Florence, 1535 - 1592) Adam and Eve Oil on panel, cm 86X68 Provenance: Milan, private collection Trained in Michele Tosini's workshop, Girolamo Macchietti initially collaborated with his contemporary Mirabello Cavalori, but his works from this period are lost. We can therefore assert that his debut is to be found during the pictorial decoration of Palazzo Vecchio, an undertaking directed by Giorgio Vasari whose start is dated to 1555. The residence of Cosimo I de' Medici can be considered a workshop of the Florentine 'manner' and during the first interventions he involved various artists, such as Cristofano Gherardi, Marco Marchetti da Faenza, Giovanni Stradano (Jan van der Straet) and Tosini himself. During the following years the painter would adapt his style following the example of Bronzino and Salviati, also looking at Roman culture thanks to a stay in the Eternal City, where he was able to observe the works of Perin del Vaga and Parmigianino (cf. R. Borghini, Il riposo, Fiorenza 1584, pp. 604-607). We find this development in the Holy Family with St. John of a private collection (cf. Privitera 1989, pp. 99-100, n. 10), in the small tondo depicting Venus and Adonis in the Palatine Gallery in Florence (cf. Privitera 1989, pp. 100-101, n. 11) and, in particular, in the two versions of Adam and Eve from a private collection and Lord Berwick's collection in Attingham Park (cf. Privitera 1989, pp. 102-103, nos. 12-13). These two panels, considered autograph by critics, date the one from a private collection to 1563 and the one belonging to Lord Berwick to the end of the seventh decade (oil on panel, 97x60.5 cm). It is the latter that shows a strong similarity with the painting under examination, proving its illustrative fortune, also confirmed by two drawings published by Privitera (cf. Privitera 1989, pp. 104-105, nos. 14-15). Having said this, while assessing the quality, the panel under examination can be attributed to the painter with due caution, noting the creative procedures of 16th century workshops. Reference bibliography: G. Vasari, Le vite (1568), edited by G. Milanesi, Florence 1906, VII, pp. 298, 613; VIII, p. 619 M. Privitera, Girolamo Macchietti. Un pittore dello studiolo di Francesco I, Rome-Milan 1996, ad vocem