Circle of Giambattista Piazzetta (Venice 1683 - Venice 1754) - Six bust-length apostles.
62.5 x 52.5 cm (without frames) - 72.5 x 62.5 cm (with frames).
Group of six oil paintings on canvas, in contemporary 18th-century carved and gilded wood frames.
The series derives from inventions by Giambattista Piazzetta (Venice 1683 - Venice 1754), later engraved by Marco Alvise Pitteri (Venice 1702 - Venice 1786).
The series depicts six bust-length apostles against a dark background, identifiable, proceeding from the top left: Saint John the Evangelist, engrossed in writing with a quill and open book, Saint James the Greater, in meditation, Saint Philip, with the staff of martyrdom, Saint Thomas, with his gaze directed upwards, Saint Andrew, with the cross, Saint James the Lesser, in a pensive attitude.
The paintings are fully within the Piazzetta orbit, reflecting the Venetian master's typical chiaroscuro style: figures emerging from the darkness with strong light contrasts, vigorous rendering of aged faces and hands, and that inner tension that characterizes the apostle series of Piazzetta and his circle. The direct reference to the engravings by Marco Alvise Pitteri – a faithful graphic interpreter of Piazzetta's work – allows us to place the series within the context of Venetian painting production in the first half of the eighteenth century, when such subjects circulated widely in both graphic and painted versions.
Condition report: Five original canvases and one relined. Good condition of the painted surface, showing signs of aging and wear. The paintings are in their original 18th-century frames.
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