Figures bathing in an extensive river landscape

In this idyllic river landscape by an artist working in the circle of Giovanni Francesco Grimaldi, mythological figures lounge on the banks of a curved river bed while figures in contemporary dress pass by on horseback. The landscape, with its typically Bolognese rolling clouds and predominance of cool blues and greens, surrounds a small fortified city in the background. The present work is close to a Tobias and the Angel by Grimaldi sold at Christie's, London, 6 June, 1974, lot 101), which features a similarly composed riverscape populated by tiny active figures.