Landscape with river and resting shepherds
Circle of Francesco Zuccarelli (1702 - 1788)
First half of the 18th century
oil on canvas
cm. 60 x 93, within a carved and gilded wooden frame cm. 75 x 108
Link: https://www.antichitacastelbarco.it/it/prodotto/paesaggio-con-fiume-e-pastori-in-riposo-zuccarelli
This delightful landscape view, animated by a family of shepherds resting from their daily tasks, is to be attributed to the hand of Francesco Zuccarelli (Pitigliano 1702 - Florence 1788);
In Zuccarelli's landscapes, the world is crystallized, frozen in a moment of idyllic peace, where the 'Arcadian' sense of landscape is rendered with the pictorial vivacity, chromatic lightness, and compositional grace that we find in its entirety in his painting.
For comparative purposes, we can compare our canvas with other compositions; we can cite a few examples:
- Landscape with river and resting shepherds, Accademia Carrara, Bergamo: link
- Landscape with bridge and knight, Accademia Carrara, Bergamo: link
- 'Landscape with river, village, fisherman and shepherdess' (Christie's, London May 1960, no. 82: link
- Landscape with figures, Accademia Carrara, Bergamo: link
- Landscape with knight and figures, Accademia Carrara, Bergamo: link
Tuscan by origin, Francesco Zuccarelli first trained in Florence with the landscape painter Paolo Anesi and then in Rome with his compatriot Giovanni Maria Morandi. It was in Rome that he had the opportunity to study excellent models, from the 17th-century examples of Gaspard Dughet to the work of his contemporary Andrea Locatelli.
Around 1732 he settled in Venice, where he was influenced by local veduta painters such as Marco Ricci and Giuseppe Zais. In the lagoon city, the painter continued his long activity, distinguishing himself from local painters by the idyllic tone of his landscapes; in this phase of his painting, which inspired our canvas, he focused on Arcadian subjects; as we can observe in his works, the presence of figures always remained predominant, almost a legacy of his early training, where naturalistic backgrounds often form the basis for rather idealized episodes of rural life.
The painting is completed by a beautiful carved and gilded wooden frame.
The painting is in excellent state of conservation and is sold with a certificate of authenticity in accordance with the law.
Follow us on:
https://www.instagram.com/galleriacastelbarco/?hl=it
https://www.facebook.com/galleriacastelbarco/
