The Temptation
With remarkable frankness, the arrival of a sex worker and her procuress is announced to a gentleman wearing a dressing gown at his breakfast table. A second cup and saucer suggest that he has anticipated her visit. The intermediary male figure’s ostentatious dress seems not to be Venetian, though his identity remains uncertain. As often in Longhi’s compositions, a painting within the painting—here an erotic mythological subject—clarifies the actions about to take place.
Artwork Details
- Title: The Temptation
- Artist: Pietro Longhi (Pietro Falca) (Italian, Venice 1701–1785 Venice)
- Date: 1746
- Medium: Oil on canvas
- Dimensions: 24 x 19 1/2 in. (61 x 49.5 cm)
- Classification: Paintings
- Credit Line: Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1917
- Object Number: 17.190.12
- Curatorial Department: European Paintings
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Pietro Longhi (Pietro Falca)
1702–85
Pietro Longhi (Pietro Falca)
Luca Carlevaris
ca. 1722–42
Pietro Longhi (Pietro Falca)
1746
Pietro Longhi (Pietro Falca)
1746
Pietro Longhi (Pietro Falca)
1746
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