The Marriage at Cana, by Pasqualino Rossi (1641-1722).

Oil on canvas, 31cm by 39.5cm. Pair to PIC460.

A depiction of a wedding feast in Cana when Christ transformed water into wine, after the wedding wine had all been drunk.

This was the first miracle attributed to him, in the Gospel of St. John.

The painting was purchased by John, 5th Earl of Exeter (1648-1700) whilst in Italy on the Grand Tour.

It is listed in the 1688 Burghley Inventory: ‘The Passage by ye Hall Staires: 1 peice of ye Marriage ffeast in Cana, by.’

Pasqualino Rossi, who was largely self-taught, was born in Vicenza.

He worked extensively at the Palazzo Reale in Turin, but was active mainly in Rome where he died in 1722.

REFERENCE: PIC439

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