A painting made in Florence more than 340 years ago has returned to the city after being acquired for the Uffizi Galleries. Christ and the Samaritan Woman, painted around 1685 by the Neapolitan Baroque artist Luca Giordano, was bought by the Amici degli Uffizi and Friends of the Uffizi Galleries associations and donated to the museum, following its presentation at TEFAF Maastricht in 2026.

The circular work is unusual for its technique: it is a fresco painted not on a wall but on a paniera, a lightweight round mat of woven wicker. The method, used in Florence by artists including Giovanni da San Giovanni, allowed fresco painting to travel, and Giordano adopted it during his stay in the city, where he worked for the Medici and other leading patrons. Known for his speed, which earned him the nickname Luca fa presto, he is traditionally said to have finished the painting in just two days.

The work was made towards the end of Giordano's decoration of the Gallery of Mirrors at Palazzo Medici Riccardi, one of Florence's great Baroque interiors, and was originally one of four round paintings commissioned by the Florentine nobleman Andrea Del Rosso. A companion piece from the same series, Christ Among the Doctors, is now held by the Minneapolis Institute of Art.

Uffizi director Simone Verde said the acquisition matters because it was produced during the final phase of Giordano's Medici Riccardi project, allowing the museum to tell the artist's Florentine story more completely. The painting will go on display in the Uffizi's new first-floor galleries for 17th-century painting, joining a self-portrait by Giordano and a preparatory study for his Corsini Chapel frescoes already in the collection.