GIUSEPPE BADARACCO (Genoa, 1588 - 1657) The Virgin handing the scapular to Saint Simon Stock Oil on canvas, 207X156 cm The painting presented here can be judged among the best altarpieces by Giovanni Raffaele Badaracco. The theatrical scenic construction of marked Baroque taste testifies to Ratti's assertions about the painter's Roman training, recently outlined by Loredana Lorizzo's studies dedicated to Pellegrino Peri, a painting merchant of Genoese origin active in the Eternal City. However, the artist's protean culture is well documented by his biographer, who recalls him as a pupil of Carlo Maratti, an observer of Cortona's manner, who after eight years of study in Rome moved on to Naples and then Venice before returning to his homeland. The painting under examination nevertheless shows a marked adherence to the Baroque painting culture derived from Domenico Piola, Gregorio De Ferrari and Bartolomeo Guidobono, particularly in the choice of colours, the softness of the lighting and the chiaroscuro effects. However, despite its classicism, the rhythm responds well to the dictates of the Carmelite cult, and a comparison with the works of his full maturity in the early 18th century supports this hypothesis. The work is accompanied by a critical card by Camillo Manzitti. Reference bibliography: R. Soprani, C. Giuseppe Ratti, Vite de' pittori, scultori ed architetti genovesi, Genova 1768-1769, vol. II, pp. 69-73 C. Di Fabio, Gio Raffaele Badaracco. Quality and industry, in Bollettino dei Musei Civici Genovesi, 14, Genoa 1992, no. 40-42, pp. 61-91 A. Orlando, Dipinti Genovesi dal Cinquecento al Settecento. Ritrovamenti dal collezionismo privato, Turin 2010, pp. 29-30 P. Martini, Giovanni Raffaele Badaracco sulle orme di Casa Piola, in Domenico Piola e la sua bottega. Approfondimenti sulle arti nel secondo Seicento genovese, edited by D. Sanguineti, Genoa 2019, pp. 448-457, fig. 13