Innocence and Temptation Bernardino Peretti (Novara 1828 – 1889) Oil on canvas Dimensions cm. 73 x 91 Excellent condition Signed and dated lower right The painting offers an intriguing and highly evocative image. Two nude children, still adolescents, are about to experience their first temptations and first attractions to sex. The scene leaves the question open as to who the tempter is, between the little boy with his index finger raised and the little girl with an innocent but seductive look directed at him. The reference to the biblical image of Adam and Eve is evident, and therefore the silhouette of the snake, long considered the symbol of deception and temptation, could not be missing, half-hidden in the shadows. It is a splendid oil on canvas, dated and signed by Bernardino Peretti, which depicts with great effectiveness a very delicate subject with great pictorial difficulty. The elegant rendering of the nude bodies of the children set in an extremely luminous landscape is extraordinary, and the detailed description of the dense vegetation in backlight on the right side of the canvas is remarkably effective. The excellent state of preservation allows a perfect reading of the painting. Bernardino Peretti, a pupil of his father Lorenzo, supplemented his studies in France, in Lyon, where he worked for some years as a successful portraitist. Between 1867 and 1881 he exhibited portraits, genre paintings and still lifes in Turin (1868), Paris (1873-1879) and Milan (1881). A certificate of authenticity is issued in accordance with the law, drawn up by an antique dealer registered with FIMA (ITALIAN FEDERATION OF ART MERCHANTS) Tracked shipping (DHL TRACKING) and fully insured with anti-shock packaging in a custom-made wooden crate. Delivery within 3 working days of receipt of the bank transfer (DHL EXPRESS) All the details of the painting on the link: https://www.antichitaischia.it/it/prodotto/l-innocenza-e-la-tentazione