GALEOTTI, Sebastiano

(b. 1676 Firenze, d. ~1746 Mondovi)

Italian painter. He was a pupil of the painters Alessandro Gherardini, Felice Torelli, and Giovanni Gioseffo dal Sole. He spent more than the last three decades of his life as a most successful fresco painter in Liguria, Lombardy, and Piedmont, practicing his truly international art.

He collaborated with Giovanni Domenico Ferretti or Francesco Natali (died 1723) of Cremona in some projects. He worked with Natali in the Oratory of Santa Maria delle Grazie, Parma. He helped decorate with frescoes the rooms of the Farnese Rocca in Sala Baganza. He decorated the church of the Magdalen in Genoa.

In Turin, he was appointed director of the Academy, the precursor of the Accademia Albertina. In Mondovi he worked for the House of Savoy.

His son Giuseppe Galeotti (1708-1778) was active in Liguria as a painter.

Allegory of Charity

Galeotti formed his style on Pietro da Cortona, Luca Giordano, and Sebastiano Ricci.

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Ceiling decoration

Sebastiano Galeotti was commissioned to fresco the church of Santa Maria Maddalena of Genoa. Here he left a tangible proof of his artistic skill.

The picture shows the fresco of the vault of the central nave of the church representing the Eternal Wisdom between the Misericordia and the Justice and the triumph of the virtues on the vices.

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Rebecca at the Well

The biblical story depicted in the painting is the following.

The patriarch Abraham, wishing to find a wife for her son Isaac, sent his servant Eliezer, to look for a suitable bride amaong his own kindred in Mesopotamia, rather than among the people of Canaan where he dwelt. When the servant reached the city of Nahor in Chaldea he prayed for guidance, asking that whoever gave him and his camels water at the well would be an eligible woman. This proved to be Rebecca, a virgin, one of the family of Abraham throrugh his brother Nahor. She invited Eliezer to drink from her jar, and drew water for his camels. Eliezer gave his presents of gold and received hospitality at her parents’ house. He then took her back to Canaan.

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