 |
| Benedetto Luti Cain fleeing from the sight of God after the death of Abel 1692 oil on canvas National Trust, Kedleston Hall, Derbyshire |
 |
| Anonymous artist after Benedetto Luti Cain fleeing from the sight of God after the death of Abel after 1692 drawing National Galleries of Scotland |
 |
| Benedetto Luti Supper at Emmaus ca. 1709 oil on panel Princeton University Art Museum |
 |
| Benedetto Luti Supper at Emmaus ca. 1709 drawing National Gallery of Art, Washington DC |
"Born in Florence in 1666, Benedetto Luti entered the atelier of Antonio Domenico Gabbiani, from whom he learned a diminished and sweetened Florentine adaptation of the style of Pietro da Cortona. He moved to Rome in 1690 in order to study with Ciro Ferri. Ferri, however, had died shortly before and Luti adhered closely to the style of Carlo Maratti, without actually becoming one of his pupils. Already rather independent, he continued his artistic training in various "academies," particularly the Académie de France, in which students learned to draw directly from nature. Here he formed connections with Frenchmen whose artistic concepts obviously influenced him. In 1692 Luti was successful in a competition that proved decisive for his subsequent career. His prize-winning entry was a painting of Cain fleeing after having murdered Abel. This was followed by some paintings for churches, few in number but highly regarded, and a not appreciably larger number of works for private patrons, frequently of mythological subjects. According to the account of Pascoli, who was his intimate friend, Luti worked very slowly; he was one of those artists, so frequently encountered among the Florentines, for whom deep reflection dominates over momentary instinct. He possessed one of the most comprehensive collections of prints and drawings in Rome and was generally regarded as a great connoisseur; he was therefore frequently consulted in the case of dubious paintings. Luti had a particular fondness for the medium of pastel, which he employed in rendering his sketches for the heads for devotional pictures and genre-like scenes."
– Hermann Voss, from Baroque Painting in Rome (1925), revised and translated by Thomas Pelzel (San Francisco: Alan Wofsy, 1997)
 |
| Benedetto Luti Adoring Angels ca. 1706-1708 fresco Chiesa di Santa Catarina da Siena a Magnanapoli, Rome |
 |
| Benedetto Luti Apotheosis of Pope Martin V Colonna before 1724 fresco Palazzo Colonna, Rome |
 |
| Benedetto Luti Allegory of Wisdom before 1724 oil on canvas private collection |
 |
| Benedetto Luti St Catherine saving Victims of Shipwreck before 1724 oil on canvas Musée Fesch, Ajaccio |
 |
| Benedetto Luti Christ and Mary Magdalene in the House of Simon ca. 1693 oil on canvas National Trust, Kedleston Hall, Derbyshire |
 |
| Benedetto Luti Psyche gazing at sleeping Cupid before 1724 oil on canvas Galleria dell' Accademia di San Luca, Rome |
 |
| Benedetto Luti Head of Bearded Man ca. 1715 pastel Philadelphia Museum of Art |
 |
| Benedetto Luti Head of Apostle 1712 pastel Clark Art Institute, Williamstown, Massachusetts |
 |
| Benedetto Luti Head of Apostle 1712 pastel Harvard Art Museums |
 |
| Benedetto Luti` Head of Bearded Man 1715 pastel National Gallery of Art, Washington DC |