"The Varallo Spouses", a pair of oil portraits on canvas, 50x40 cm, by Giovanni Battista Zali (Boccioleto 1793 – Milan 1851). On the back of the male portrait, the inscription: “1831 on May 3rd painted by Gio.Batta.Zalli in the paese dell’Oro near Varallo”. On the back of the female portrait, the inscription: “1833 Gio.Batta.Zali also painted this”. The “paese dell’Oro” is now a hamlet of the Municipality of Varallo. The spouses show characters both diverse and complementary: he, elderly and of few words, poses with patience and manly composure; she, younger than her husband, aims at the viewer with attentive and expressive eyes. Giovanni Battista Zali was a keen portrait painter, as evidenced by the two lively operettas presented here; his affirmation on the Lombard artistic scene began precisely in 1833 - the year of our gold bride - when he won the Brera painting prize which opened the way to historical and religious commissions, at the time the most coveted by artists.