Giovanni Battista Pittoni (Venice 1687-1767)

This painting is the only known depiction of the subject by Pittoni. As pointed out by Franca Zava Boccazzi (op. cit.), this is typical of Pittoni's mature style, and would have been executed for private devotion, rather than as a highly finished preparatory work for a large altarpiece. The freshness of the brushstrokes, as well as the inventive spatial arrangement of the figures, gives the picture a liveliness and greater sense of spontaneity than is usual in the large church commissions.