Fra'Galgario's Maturity and Old Age
The painter's entire career was characterized by experiments with new pictorial techniques in his search for greater expressiveness. From about 1730, he even went so far as to use his fingers when painting faces. Crippling arthritis is given as the reason for this, but he seems to have had a conscious desire to rework canvases kept in the studio for this very reason. Significantly, Fra'Galgario chose canvases which were close to his heart, for example the portrait of his friend Bruntino.
He was therefore freer than in commissioned portraits, which he seemed to tire of towards the end of his life, preferring instead to paint portraits of children and friends. Like other great painters, Fra'Galgario found a new formal freedom and expressive strength in his last works despite his decreasing physical strength.
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