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Lot Essay
A Venetian by birth, Pellegrini was invited to England in 1708 by the British ambassador to Venice, Charles Montagu, later 1st Duke of Manchester. In a letter to Montagu, John Vanbrugh wrote: 'If the Painter yr Ldship brings over be a good one, he may find work enough; but the room at Kimbolton can't be ready for him this Winter' (Knox, op. cit., p. 47). Pellegrini proved to be 'good', and he and his wife, Angela, the sister of Rosalba Carriera, stayed for four and a half years in England. During his stay he carried out important work at Kimbolton Castle in Huntingdonshire, at Castle Howard, Yorkshire, and in three of the great London houses of the period, Burlington House in Piccadilly, Manchester House in Arlington Street, and Portland House in St. James's Square. In his Notebooks, George Vertue describes Pellegrini as a 'talle, proper mam of a great deal of fire and vivacity... he painted prodigious quick and had a very noble & fruitful invention', and was hence not surprised that the artist had financial success during his sojourn (Vertue, 'Notebooks, I,' The Walpole Society, XX, 1930, pp. 38-9).
This lively sketch would appear to date to Pellegrini's English period, 1708-13. The fluent handling with its clear, light hues are typical of the artist's style during these years when he established himself as one of the most sought-after decorative painters in Europe.
This lively sketch would appear to date to Pellegrini's English period, 1708-13. The fluent handling with its clear, light hues are typical of the artist's style during these years when he established himself as one of the most sought-after decorative painters in Europe.