Benedetto Gennari: Portrait of Marchese Francesco Fiaschi (1665)

(Private Collection)

A painting by the Italian artist Benedetto Gennari (1633-1715). Francesco Fiaschi (1605-1658) acquired the title Marchese (marquis) in 1636, and two years later in Ferrara became a member of the Legato di Ferrara e del Giudice dei Savi (Cardinal Legate of Ferrara and the judge of the Elders). By 1644 he had become an advisor and ambassador to Pope Innocent X. He was also one of Guercino's earliest patrons. Fiaschi is holding a letter which is mostly illegible. Gennari placed his signature at the bottom of the letter, the name of Fiaschi is inscribed on the envelope. Painting from 1665.