Peter Frans Casteels (1675 - 1697), Giuditta e... Lot n° 136

This oil on copper, attributed to Flemish painter Peter Frans Casteels, is directly taken from Peter Paul Rubens' 'Judith and Holofernes' and engraved by Galle Cornelis the Elder. A copy of this engraving is now preserved at the Civica Raccolta delle Stampe Achille Bertarelli, in the Castello Sforzesco in Milan. The attribution to the Flemish painter is supported by a label on the back of the painting, which refers it to the Flemish florist. The rare interpretation of a subject so far from Casteels' strings, make the painting less 'fresh' and 'lively' but rarer in the corpus of the painter's production. Oil on copper, size 61x46 cm.