Daniel Seiter, 1649 Wien – 1705 Turin, zugesc... Lot n° 304

KAIN AND ABEL Oil on canvas. 170 x 230 cm. As is so often the case in the painter's oeuvre, this painting was also created in a large format, in an extreme chiaroscuro Carravaggist style. The muscular and strongly animated figures stand out against the almost black background, brightened by the spotlight. All triviality is avoided by this mannerist approach. Only the still smouldering fire of the sacrificial altar and a small view of the landscape are the few narrative elements next to the figures. Abel lies slain on the ground, the position of his arms revealing his suffering even from a distance, while Cain crouches stunned over his dead brother in a deliberately darker incarnation. A.R. Daniel Seiter moved from his hometown of Vienna to Venice and was trained by Johann Carl Loth (1632 - 1698). In Rome from 1680, he mainly created large altarpieces, initially in the studio of Carlo Maratta. His successes led to him being accepted into the Congregazione dei Virtuosi al Panteon as early as 1683 and three years later into the Accademia di San Luca. Summoned to Turin by Duke Victor Amadeus II of Savoy, he created frescoes in the Palazzo Reale there, became a Knight of the Order of St. Maurice and St. Lazarus and the first court painter. Literature Cf. Peter Prange, Seiter, Daniel, Neue Deutsche Biographie (NDB), vol. 24, Berlin 2010. Cf. Matthias Kunze, Daniel Seiter (1647 - 1705). The Paintings, Munich 2000. Cf. Matthias Kunze, Daniel Seiter (1647 - 1705). The Drawings, Salzburg Baroque Museum 1997 (1400192) (11) Daniel Seiter, 1649 Vienna - 1705 Turin, attributed CAIN AND ABEL Oil on canvas. 170 x 230 cm.