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Saint Philip Neri (1515–1595)

Carlo Dolci Italian
1645 or 1646
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 620
In an inscription, the artist records that he began this posthumous portrait on May 26, Saint Philip Neri’s feast day, and completed it eight days later for the church of San Firenze in Florence, adding, “I Carlo Dolci, painted the present image . . . [beginning] the first day of my thirtieth year 1645 [or 1646].” Since Neri, a great spiritual leader and founder of the Oratorians, had died fifty years previously, Dolci must have used a death mask to achieve the astonishing quality of physical presence. According to a contemporary: “[Philip Neri] had the pure look of a child, and his face and his eyes had a light in them that no painter has been able to capture, although many have tried.”

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Saint Philip Neri (1515–1595)
  • Artist: Carlo Dolci (Italian, Florence 1616–1687 Florence)
  • Date: 1645 or 1646
  • Medium: Oil on canvas
  • Dimensions: 17 1/2 × 14 1/4 in. (44.5 × 36.2 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Purchase, George Delacorte Fund Gift, in memory of George T. Delacorte Jr., Ronald S. Lauder, Mr. and Mrs. Richard L. Chilton Jr., and Mr. and Mrs. Frederick W. Beinecke Gifts, 2016
  • Object Number: 2016.507
  • Curatorial Department: European Paintings

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Portrait of the Artist's Daughter Agata Dolci, Carlo Dolci Italian, Red and black chalk on pale gray paper
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