Andrea Pozzo, Christ in the House of Simon the Pharisee, Oil on Canvas, 17th Century, Framed

Andrea Pozzo (Trento, Italy, 1642 – Vienna, Austria, 1709)
Title: Christ in the house of Simon the Pharisee
Medium: Oil on canvas
Dimensions: without frame 88 x 128.5 cm - with frame 104 x 144 x 5 cm

Expertise by Alessandro Morandotti and Egidio Martini, art historians

Notes: Andrea Pozzo also created a painting of “Jesus in the Temple among the Doctors” in the Basilica di San Defendente in Romano di Lombardia.

Literature: From Sacro to Profano, the Giorgio Baratti art collection from Milan, exhibition catalogue curated by Daiva Mitrulevičiūtė, Giovanni Matteo Guidetti and Ileana Maniscalco, (16 February – 27 September 2020), Vilnius, National Museum - Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania, pp. 348-351; Barocco spaziale - Dialoghi di luce, forma, colore fra pittura barocca e spazialismo, exhibition catalogue curated by Susanna Gualazzini, Fabio Obertelli, Carlo Scagnelli, (Piacenza, 8 December 2021 - 6 February 2022), Galleria Biffi Arte, Piacenza, pp. 21-22, 44, 102.

Andrea Pozzo (1642 – 1709) was an Italian Jesuit brother, Baroque painter, architect, decorator, stage designer, and art theoretician. He was born in Trento, and when he was studying at the local Jesuit school, he started to show artistic inclinations, so his father sent him to work with an artist. His mainly known for his frescoes executed with the technique of quadrature, an illusionistic painting technique which creates an illusion of three-dimensional space on flat surfaces. When Pozzo was 23, he entered the Jesuit Order as a lay brother, while he continued his artistic training in Genoa and Venice. He was frequently employed by the Jesuits to decorate churches and buildings; in fact, his artistic activity was mainly related to the Jesuit Order's enormous artistic needs.
The painting shows the celebrated biblical episode of “Christ in the house of Simon the Pharisee” (Luke 7:36-50), in which the penitent Mary Magdalene anoints the Lord’s feet, obtaining forgiveness for her sins but the disapproval of bystanders. Luke's Gospel (Luke 7:36-50) tells us that the Pharisee Simon once asked Christ to come to his house and entertain him. During the meal, a well-known sinner appeared in the city, whom the evangelist does not mention by name, but who was later always equated with Mary Magdalene, the sister of Lazarus. To the host's dismay, she knelt before Christ and wept, wetting his feet with her tears, drying them with her hair, kissing and anointing them.