Venus Resting with Cupid

Most of them [works by Pesci] are religious paintings, either of a large format designated for churches, or smaller works for private devotion. However, it is possible to distinguish a small group of cabinet pictures of which the Łazienki Venus Resting is an example. Although most of them depict biblical scenes, they are of a genre character, showing nudes of a similar anatomical type, with a characteristically arched body, set against a landscape background. … The present painting seems to be one of the few recognized works to date by Pesci depicting a mythological subject. Others include Diana with Nymphs Surprised by Actaeon (Christie’s, London, 26 October 1973, lot no. 129 … ) and the paintings known from Anthony M. Clark’s account: Callisto Bathing… , as well as two heads of satyrs, recorded in 1722 in the posthumous inventory of the Roman goldsmith, Giovanni Giardini … .

The painting may have come into the Stanisław August collection on the advice of Marcello Bacciarelli who, as a Roman, could have encouraged the king to buy paintings made by his fellow countrymen. …