Giovanni Domenico Cerrini (Perugia 1609-1681 Rome)

Born in Perugia, Giovanni Domenico Cerrini moved to Rome in the mid-1630s, where he stayed for most of his career, a part from a long stay in Florence, where he worked for the Medici (1656-61). His style was strongly influenced by Bolognese classicism and the work of Reni and Guercino, and it did not chang greatly during his career: most of his paintings are not dated and a chronology based on stylistic grounds is hard to establish. On the other hand, Francesco Federico Mancini, (op. cit.), who considers the present picture 'di inconfondibile autografia cerriniana', links it with the works of the artist's Florentine period, such as Judith and Holofernes (Navarre, private collection; pp. 204-5, no. 46) and Woman carrying eggs (Florence, Galleria Corsini; pp. 206-7, no. 47), both dated to the early 1660s. Among the artist's personal belongings there was a Head of Apollo that the author believes to be a study for the present painting or a partial replica of it (Appendix no. 56).