A preparatory study reattributed to Alessandro Turchi

This drawing, of a spectacular size, is connected to the large painting The Gathering of Manna (ill. 1), preserved in the church of San Giorgio in Braida in Verona. Probably commissioned in 1600, the canvas was begun by Felice Brusasorci (1542–1605) and then completed, after his death in 1605, by his two pupils: Pasquale Ottino (1578–1630) and Alessandro Turchi. The painting is still displayed in the church alongside its pendant,The Multiplication of the Loaves, painted by Paolo Farinati (1524-1606)⁽¹⁾. 

As Hélène Sueur observes, “the exceptional dimensions of the sheet, the care given to its execution, the attention to detail, and the freedom of the handling strongly encourage us to see in it a preparatory project⁽²⁾ rather than a mere copy after the painting. Sergio Marinelli develops this idea further, seeing in it a “plan of redefinition”⁽³⁾ of the composition, executed after Brusasorci’s death by his pupils in order to introduce modifications before completing the canvas. While Hélène Sueur attributed the drawing to Pasquale Ottino, this attribution has been rejected by Davide Dossi and by Sergio Marinelli, who recognizes - without reservation - the hand of the young Alessandro Turchi⁽⁴⁾. It is worth noting that a copy of our drawing is preserved in the University Art Museum at Princeton (inv. x1948-1261). Smaller (42 × 55 cm) and of much more modest quality⁽⁵⁾, it nonetheless aligns perfectly with the present sheet, including in its divergences from the final painting.

Nicknamed L’Orbetto, probably because his father was blind in one eye ( orbo ), Turchi settled in Rome in 1614, where he remained until his death. After working on the decoration of the Sala Regia in the Quirinal Palace, he attracted the attention of Cardinal Scipione Borghese (1577–1633), for whom he painted The Dead Christ with Mary Magdalene and Angels and The Raising of Lazarusboth still preserved in the Galleria Borghese. From that point on, his success never waned. He was appointed head of the Accademia di San Luca in 1637 and worked until his death for the most eminent patrons. His works were especially sought after by distinguished French collectors, “who must have greatly appreciated the blend of classicism and realism, tinged with northern nuances, that characterizes his art”⁽⁶⁾.  Félibien, sensible à cette esthétique, dit d’ailleurs le préférer à Velázquez⁽⁷⁾. Among his most illustrious Parisian collectors were Richelieu, Mazarin, and Louis Phélypeaux de La Vrillière, for whom he painted the celebrated Death of Cleopatra, now displayed in the Grande Galerie of the Musée du Louvre (inv. 703).