Francesco Cairo (Varese 1594 - Milan 1674) Venus, Mars and Cupid oil on canvas cm 122 x 154 SOLD "Francesco del Cairo was born in 1598 near Varese; he died in Milan in 1674. A pupil of Morazzone, he then worked as a court painter in Turin for Duke Vittorio Amedeo of Savoy, creating portraits and historical paintings. After visiting Venice and Rome, according to his early biographers, he adopted a gentler style. Finally, in Milan, he engaged in a very productive activity as a portraitist and religious painter. His works can be found in Milan in S. Carlo, in S. Vittorino, in S. Antonio Abate; in the Certosa di Pavia; in the parish church of Varese; in the church of S. Teresa in Piacenza; in S. Bartolomeo in Modena, and in the Scalzi in Venice. In the Royal Picture Gallery of Turin there is his Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane, prior to 1635; in the Parma Gallery a Madonna of the Rosary and a Martyrdom of S. Margherita are attributed to him; in the Brera Art Gallery there is a self-portrait; in the State Museum in Vienna a portrait of a young man; in the Dresden Gallery a Venus with Apollo and Love. He is one of the most representative painters of the Lombard Baroque together with Morazzone, Cerano and Procaccini. His painting is full of movement and dramatic emphasis; dark tones prevail, illuminated by sudden flashes." -Encliclopedia Treccani, Francesco del Cairo