Francesco Zuccarelli (Pitigliano, 1702 – Florence, 1788)
This pleasant river landscape animated by delightful vignettes is the work of Francesco Zuccarelli (Pitigliano, 1702 – Florence, 1788), the artist who was one of the foremost interpreters of Arcadian and pastoral landscapes in 18th-century Europe.
In the painting, characterized by an airy vision of an idealized nature, the reference to the art of Marco Ricci, with whose painting Zuccarelli had become familiar in Florence around the late 1720s, is evident in the motifs of leafy trees and the broad, expansive landscape view which, in the gentle recession of planes, perfectly balances the composition.
Zuccarelli employs his usual iconographic repertoire of washerwomen and shepherds softly posed on the bank of a stream with fresh waters. Leafy trees, rendered with airy touches, frame the rustic scene, while in the background, a small village with an old bell tower and gentle mountains are lightly silhouetted against a bright sky fading from pearl grey to blue, traversed by light, rosy clouds.
Oil on canvas, 40.5 x 54 cm – Expertise: Prof. Dario Succi
