Tátrai Vilmos szerk.: A Szépművészeti Múzeum közleményei 95. (Budapest, 2001)

DOBOS, ZSUZSANNA: Two hitherto unknown paintings by Flaminio Torri

79. Simone Cantarini: Two Maidens Carrying Jugs on their Heads, drawing from the Album Home. 80. Flaminio Torri: Mother and Child, drawing. Rio de Janeiro, Biblioteca Nacional detached from Cavedone, the parallel, nearly incised, scratched brushstrokes, the deep shadows around the eyes and the copper, earth and metal tones of the flesh, it can rather be placed among the mature works of Torri and can be linked with the Judith in Greenville, the Ecstasy of St Francis is a private collection, Urbino

19 and the Imola altarpiece among others. Torri's copies, which he produced after ancient and modern paintings, mostly towards the end of his life at the Modenese court of Alfonso IV d'Este, were already highly esteemed by Malvasia and Lanzi. Citing Lanzi, "il suo gran talento fu imitare perfettamente e senza stento qualunque maniera, onde le sue copie furono pregiate quanto gli originali de' grandi autori, e talvolta piu."

20 On the basis of the couple of works identified so far

21 we can add that for Torri "perfect imitation" meant the transformation of other painters' manner according to his own taste rather than slavish copying. This appears to be justified by the tradition which relates that Torri's Florentine colleague, II Volterrano found his copy made after Reni's The Rape of Cassandra "più franca, corretta e gaiosa" than the original.

22 Torri took advantage of his ability 19 Reproduced: Colombi Ferretti, op. cit. (Paragone note 4) fig. 27. 20 Lanzi, op. cit. (note 7) 125. 21 On Torri's copies see Volpe, op. cit. (note 4) 28-36. 22 Malvasia, op. cit. (note 5) 383.