.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
Dr. Claudia Nordhoff has confirmed the attribution of the present lot to Michael Wutky. Famous for his moonlit landscapes and pictures depicting Mount Vesuvius, Michael Wutky's career began at the Vienna Academy, which he joined in 1755. Just over ten years later, he became a member of the newly-founded Imperial Drawings Academy. In 1771, he travelled to Italy, visiting Trieste, Padua, Venice and Rome. It was in Rome that he became acquainted with the artists, John Robert Cozens (1752-1798), Thomas Jones (1742-1803) and Louis-Rodolphe Ducros (1748-1810). In 1781-2, he was commissioned by Marcantonio Borghese to work alongside Jakob Philipp Hackert (1737-1807) and Gavin Hamilton (1723-1798) on the decoration of the Villa Princiana, Rome.