Mario de’ Fiori e Raffaello Vanni, la Flora Rospigliosi ritrovata e qualche appunto sulla pittura naturalistica a Roma alla metà del Seicento
Francesco Solinas
The extraordinary baroque canvas presented in this essay represents an Allegory of Flora with seven putti and extensive flower arrangements. The author identifies the painting with the long-lost Flora painted by Mario de’ Fiori and Raffaello Vanni around 1660 for Cardinal Giulio Rospigliosi, later Pope Clement IX. A thorough examination of the sources, inventories, correspondences, and precise stylistic comparisons allows him to confirm the attribution to the two artists.