Luca Giordano’s ‘Cristo e la Samaritana’ Enters the Uffizi Collection

Presented at TEFAF Maastricht 2026, the painting was acquired by Amici degli Uffizi–Friends of Uffizi Galleries and donated to the Gallerie.

‘Cristo e la Samaritana’ is a tondo fresco fixed to a light, movable support known as a ‘paniera,’ a round wicker matting. The support was used in Florence by Giovanni da San Giovanni and other masters, and Giordano adopted it during his stay in the city.

Giordano was sought after by the Medici and by Florence’s leading aristocratic families. The technique allowed him to retain the rapidity associated with his nickname, ‘Luca fa presto’; the source reports that the painting was completed in just two days. The tondo was painted during the final phase of the decorations at Palazzo Medici Riccardi.

Based on the Gospel of John, the scene depicts Christ meeting the Samaritan woman near Jacob’s Well. Its composition is described as immediate and fresh, using bright, luminous tones that come close to the style of Pietro da Cortona. The painting will be installed in forthcoming first-floor rooms devoted to seventeenth-century painting, where it will be shown alongside works by artists active in Florence during the same period.

The donation expands the Uffizi’s holdings of seventeenth-century Neapolitan art and documents the presence of major representatives of that school in Florence. Friends of the Uffizi Gallery and Amici degli Uffizi describe their collaboration as a twenty-year effort supporting restorations and important acquisitions.