Obraz římského malíře Luigiho Garziho pro kostel ve Staré Vodě

Until the middle of the 19th century a painting of the Madonna and Child decorated the main altar of the Church of St James the Greater and St Anne in Stará Voda u Libavé. The painting was commissioned by the Bishop of Olomouc, Karl II of Liechtenstein-Castelcorn (1624–1695), and was created by Roman artist Luigi Garzi (1638–1721). The only knowledge we have today of the painting's original appearance comes from a copy by Josef Kriesten that hangs in the parish church in Kroměříž. Letters from the bishop's agent in Rome, Giovanni Petignier, reveal that the bishop had had the chance to choose among the most important artists in Rome of the time to create the painting: Carlo Maratta, Giovanni Battista Gaulli called il Baciccio, or Giacinto Brandi. This article offers a closer look at the process by which the artist was selected and its later fate.