Studio of Sebastiano Ricci Belluno 1659 - 1734 Venice

This painting is a variant, on vertical rather than horizontal format, of Ricci's original of circa 1720 in the Palazzo Taverna, Rome (J. Daniels, Sebastiano Ricci, Hove 1976, p. 109, cat. no. 385, reproduced fig. 264). The Palazzo Taverna picture is much larger (185 by 263 cm.) and a few differences are visible between the two works: the putto behind Daphne has been moved further behind (thus avoiding the awkward position of the legs), Apollo no longer wears a leopard skin, and a dog has been inserted lower right. An earlier treatment of the subject, in oval form, was formerly at Palazzo Fulcis and then in Prof. Egidio Martini's collection, Venice (Daniels, op. cit., p. 6, cat. no. 21, reproduced fig. 22).

Although probably executed by his studio, the figure of the river-god Peneus in the lower left corner is of notably better quality and may quite conceivably have been painted by Ricci himself.  This painting is accompanied by a copy of a letter of Dott. Filippo Pedrocco, dated 5 July 2004, in which he attributes the work to Sebastiano Ricci in full.