Beyond the Canvas: Pietro Vecchia - A Masterpiece of Deceit

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MMXXV

©LISAC.LACOLLA

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BEYOND THE CANVAS is an innovative project that brings art history to life by

combining literature, art, and storytelling. It aims to make art more accessible to a wider

audience.

This collection features a series of short stories inspired by the historical events that led

to the creation of famous paintings. Each story is based on biographical, historical, and

archival research, transforming artists and their creations into the protagonists of the

narrative.

The stories are developed from previous publications by M.A. Fiore, turning specialized

content into engaging experiences.

Beyond the Canvas balances the simplicity of storytelling with the complexity of art

historical analysis, making art more accessible without sacrificing depth.

Published online in Italian, German, and English, Beyond the Canvas is an international

project that encourages discussion among scholars and captures the interest of a broader

audience.

The natural evolution of the project is the creation of an international anthology television

series. Each story will be adapted into a screenplay in English, breathing new life into the

hidden stories behind masterpieces of painting.

This approach balances the promotion of art with cultural awareness, developing an

ethical and innovative art marketing model that values creativity.

“A Masterpiece of Deceit” explores the theme of artistic forgery in 17th-century

Venice. The story follows Pietro Vecchia, a painter-illusionist capable of challenging the

very concept of authenticity by creating works that appear to be from the past.

This story perfectly demonstrates how Beyond the Canvas transforms complex studies

into compelling narratives, inviting reflection on the nature of artistic creation.

„In the shadowy world of Venetian art, a master forger challenges the boundaries of

authenticity, crafting illusions so perfect they rewrite history.“

n the heart of a Venetian workshop, Pietro Vecchia observes his latest masterpiece.

Bathed in a warm, dusty light, the canvas seems to have sprung from a bygone era,

as if rediscovered from a collection that has been forgotten for over a hundred years.

Yet, it is not merely a painting – it is a riddle.

Vecchia himself is an illusionist painter, a revolutionary of the concept of reality and authenticity.

Known in his surroundings as Sìmia de Zorzòn – the “Ape of Giorgione” – due to his remarkable

ability to imitate the masters of the early 16 th century, he created this canvas with a clear goal: to

deceive the eye of the connoisseur, challenge the authority of experts, and question the boundaries

between truth and forgery.

The painting depicts the biblical moment when Christ asks the Pharisee, “Whose image is this?”

thereby exposing the hypocrisy of his counterpart. However, Vecchia does not stop at the sacred

narrative: he adds a second layer of meaning. The enormous coin in the Pharisee's hand is not only

a tribute to Caesar; it is an allegory of deception, of the artificially attributed value of objects – just

as the painting itself aims to be perceived as a Mannerist masterpiece.

Every element of the canvas is designed to produce an antique effect. The physiognomies evoke the

alchemical tables from Giovan Battista Della Porta’s De Humana Physiognomonia, with faces that

seem to reveal the virtues and vices of the figures.

Christ, with his perfectly round and radiant head, contrasts with the Pharisee, whose face bears

classical, stern features, yet his posture remains ambivalent: he holds the coin in one hand, while the

other, tucked into his pocket, is dangerously close to the weapon in his belt. The two main figures

almost mirror each other: a contrast between the divine and the earthly, sincerity and deception, which

intensifies the irony of the painting.

The composition thrives on intense theatricality: the onlookers observe, participate, and judge,

each in poses reminiscent of late Renaissance painting. Two women, wrapped in heavy cloaks, draw

attention with their ambiguous glances and gestures. One of them, pushing her way to the center,

fixes the Pharisee while making the fig sign with her right hand, her thumb tucked between her index

and middle fingers – both a talisman and a gesture of mockery.

This detail adds another layer of interpretation: a mockery of the Pharisee, a symbol of hypocrisy

and corrupt authority, and a reflection on the jest embedded in the work itself. Like the gesture, the

painting is a talisman against pretension, a visual irony that challenges the viewer's certainties.

While Peter gazes at the canvas yellowing with age, thanks to the skilled use of varnishes, beside him

Nicolas Régnier, his partner in art trafficking and a knowledgeable figure in the Venetian market, murmurs:

«A true masterpiece. You are a genius! » while stroking his mustache, convinced that the work will

sell easily. Pietro looks at him and smiles contentedly.

Régnier, Vecchia's father-in-law and ally, was not only a skilled painter and market expert but also

a profound connoisseur of the obsessions of collectors of that time. Their partnership was a perfectly

tuned mechanism: Vecchia created the deception with calculated brushstrokes and evocative

physiognomies; Régnier, with his persuasive ability, presented the work as a rediscovered jewel.

Vecchia had always been averse to his father-in-law's flattery. He felt that they were taking risks,

and he knew that one day he would have to explain this activity, which indeed occurred later in life 1 .

«Come on, Pietro, it's not the first one we’ve placed! » Régnier said, taking the canvas with him in

search of the most suitable frame among the old ones.

The painting, as expected, was immediately purchased by a wealthy Venetian merchant and

catalogued as a rediscovered masterpiece of the early 16 th century. Displayed in his collection, it

attracted experts and the curious. Some recognized the “influence of Giorgione”, others of “Titian”.

A bolder scholar dared to suggest that the work was modern, but could not find decisive evidence.

In the background, as a regular guest in the fine salons, Vecchia observed contentedly and thought,

“It doesn't matter who you believe painted it – what matters is that you can't stop looking at it.”

That same evening, Pietro confessed to his father-in-law in private:

«You see, it's not just about the money; it’s about challenging the system. »

Pietro wanted to deceive the connoisseurs, turn the market upside down, and prove that genius

does not need an ancient name. Every brushstroke, every calculated imperfection, was a manifesto

against the obsession with the past.

And so, while the Venetian merchant enjoyed his “rediscovered masterpiece,” Vecchia was already

planning another lucrative variation of the same theme.

Centuries later, another version of The Tribute Money, another stage of Vecchia’s experiment,

appeared in the Staatsgalerie Stuttgart. Here, Christ is almost ethereal, an idealized figure

embodying the sublime, while the Pharisee becomes a grotesque caricature, mocking power and

falsehood. This shift underscores Vecchia's ability to reinterpret the same scene and adapt it to new

meanings and contexts.

Time has not exposed Vecchia, the painter, expert, and forger who painted like the old masters, but

celebrated him. Like the coin in the Pharisee's hand, his name shines – not because of intrinsic value,

but because of the art of deception, which he elevated to a virtue.

In an era where art is often defined by its reproducibility and value is attributed more to perception

than essence, this canvas, finally freed from the destructive wrath of time, reminds us that true

authenticity lies in art's ability to surprise us, question us, and shake our certainties.

To Lisa, my love.

1

In a letter dated September 7, 1675*, Marco Boschini, curator of Cardinal Leopoldo de’ Medici’s collection, reveals a striking episode involving Pietro

Vecchia, his consultant for the authentication of ancient artworks. Asked to give his opinion on a presumed self-portrait of Giorgione, “Vecchia burst

into laughter and admitted to being its author. He recounted having painted it thirty-two years earlier at the request of the late Nicolò Renieri, putting

all his skill into imitating the master's style without directly copying it. He also admitted to having created many works in the same manner, deceiving

several connoisseurs.” But that’s another story...

(*) Lucia e Ugo Procacci, Marco Boschini's correspondence with Cardinal Leopoldo de’ Medici (orig.: Il carteggio di Marco Boschini con il Cardinale Leopoldo

de’ Medici), in “Saggi e memorie di storia dell'arte”, 4, 1963. Letter n. XLIV, p. 107.

Bathedinawarm,dustylight,thecanvassemstohavesprungfromabygoneera,asif

rediscoveredfromacolectionthathasbenforgotenforoverahundredyears


epaintingdepictsthebiblicalmomentwhenChristasksthePharise,


“Whoseimageisthis?”therebyexposingthehypocrisyofhiscounterpart

eenormouscoininthePharise'shandisnotonlyatributetoCaesar;itisan


alegoryofdeception,ofthearticialyatributedvalueofobjects–justasthepainting




itselfaimstobeperceivedasaManneristmasterpiece




ephysiognomiesevokethealchemicaltablesfromGiovanBatistaDelaPorta’sDe


HumanaPhysiognomonia,withfacesthatsemtorevealthevirtuesandvicesofthegures










Christ,withhisperfectlyroundandradianthead,contrastswiththePharise.











.whosefacebearsclasical,sternfeatures,yethispostureremainsambivalent:






Heholdsthecoininonehand,whiletheother,tuckedintohispocket,isdangerously










closetotheweaponinhisbelt





Twowomen,wrappedinheavycloaks,draw ephysiognomiesevokethealchemicaltablesfromGiovanBatistaDelaPorta’sDe


atentionwiththeirambiguous








glancesandgestures.





Centurieslater,anotherversionofeTributeMoney,anotherstageofVechia’s









experiment,appearedintheStaatsgalerieStutgart



glancesandgestures.





Centurieslater,anotherversionofeTributeMoney,anotherstageofVechia’s

Christisalmostethereal,anidealizedgureembodyingthesublime,whilethe








Pharisebecomesagrotesquecaricature,mockingpowerandfalsehod





glancesandgestures.

DieriesigeMünzeinderHanddesPharisäers/SöldnersistnichtnurderTributan

DiePhysiognomienerinnernandiealchemistischenTafelnausGiovanBatistaDela

Cäsar;sieisteineAlegoriederTäuschung,deskünstlichzugeschriebenenWertesvon

MitdereinenHandhälterdieMünze,mitderanderen-indieTaschegesteckt-ister

ZweiinschwereMäntelgehülteFrauenziehenmitihrenzweideutigenBlickenund

JahrhundertespätertauchteineweitereVersionderTributmünze,eineweitereStufe

DasGemäldezeigtdenbiblischenMoment,indem HieristderChristusfastätherisch,eineidealisierteFigur,diedasErhabeneverkörpert,

PortasDeHumanaPhysiognomonia,mitGesichtern,dieTugendenundLasterder

DerChristus,mitseinemperfektrundenundvonLichtumstrahltenKopf,stehtim

Objekten–genauwiedasGemäldeselbstdaraufabzielt,alseinMeisterwerkder

Inwarmes,staubigesLichtgetaucht,scheintdieLeinwandeinervergangenenEpoche

ChristusdenPharisäerfragt:

währendderPharisäerzurgroteskenKarikaturwird,dieMachtundFalschheitverspotet

entsprungen,wieauseinerüberhundertJahrevergesenenSammlungwiederentdeckt

.desenGesichtklasische,strengeZügeträgt,desenHaltungjedochambivalentbleibt:

„WesenBildnisistdas?“undsodieHeucheleiseinesGegenübersentlarvt

vonVechiasExperiment,inderStaatsgalerieStutgartauf

Manierismuswahrgenommenzuwerden

gefährlichnaheanderWaffeamGürtel

GestendieAufmerksamkeitaufsich

Figurenzuenthülenscheinen

KontrastzumPharisäer.





iscanvas,nalyfredfrom Centurieslater,anotherversionofeTributeMoney,anotherstageofVechia’s

Christisalmostethereal,anidealizedgureembodyingthesublime,whilethe



thedestructivewrathoftime,remindsusthattrue


authenticityliesinart'sabilitytosurpriseus,questionus,andshakeourcertainties





Pharisebecomesagrotesquecaricature,mockingpowerandfalsehod





glancesandgestures.

Beyond the Canvas: Pietro Vecchia - A Masterpiece of Deceit

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