Circle of "TODESCHINI"; GIACOMO FRANCESCO CIPPER (Feldkirch, 1664-Milan, after 1747), 17th century. "Elderly mendicant". Oil on canvas. Re-coloured. It presents damages in the margins. It presents repainting. Measurements: 57,5 x 45,5 cm. In this portrait of a mendicant old man we can observe the line of caravaggism, as it was adopted by Todeschini in the dignification of popular types. The present painter probably belongs to Todeschini s circle (Giacomo Francesco Cipper). The beggar, despite his toothless mouth and the misery of his rags, is not caricatured, but on the contrary, the brightness of his eyes and the tenderness with which he is depicted dignify him. The naturalism achieved in the tone of the flesh tones, the vivid expression and the contrasting plastic qualities are outstanding. Of Austrian origin, Cipper worked in Milan in the first half of the 18th century. A highly productive landscape painter in the Caravaggesque manner, his first attributed work is dated 1700; he worked in Lombardy and the Veneto (see, for example, his Hunters and Greengrocers in the Campori Gallery, Modena, and his Family of Peasants in Venice in the Accademia Galleries). Subsequently, the artist, perhaps under the influence of Giacomo Ceruti (some of whose works are attributed to him), moved away from the scrupulous observation of detail, replacing it with a less representational vision, more sensitive to the play of light. His last known work is Self-portrait (1736), now at Hampton Court Palace.