Sebastiano Ricci an Italian Baroque style painter was born in August 1659 in Belluno, Italy. His early career as an artist took a bad turn when at the age of 19 he was accused of trying to poison the mother of his unborn child. However, one of his benefactors intervened on his behalf and he was released, at which time he moved to Bologna and where he got his first commission to paint the Decapitation of John the Baptist by the Fraternity of Saint John of Florence. His career took off after that as he was commissioned by more and more churches, statesmen and others for works of art.His painting, The Vision of Saint Bruno, which had been thought lost, will be sold at auction on November 20, 2008. The painting, which measures about 36 inches by 48 inches, is believed to have been painted around 1705 and once belonged to a European nobleman and most recently to an American family in Texas. Heritage Auctions, which will handle the sale of the painting, expects the painting of a robed Saint Bruno looking at angels in the sky to bring in over $600,000. Ricci, the artist who almost blew it by going to jail, passed away in 1734 leaving the world with some of the most beautiful paintings or his time, over forty of which reside in world class museums today.
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