Andrea Locatelli (Rome 1695-1741)
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Andrea Locatelli (Rome 1695-1741)

Peasants eating and drinking by a cottage; and A hunting party resting in a wooded landscape

Details
Andrea Locatelli (Rome 1695-1741)
Peasants eating and drinking by a cottage; and A hunting party resting in a wooded landscape
the first signed and indistinctly dated '·A locatelli· f· ·a· 17[..]' (lower right, on the table) and inscribed 'gio: Agost: geminiani, 18.11.' (on the reverse); the second signed with initials '.A.L' (lower right, on the barrel) and inscribed 'gio: Agost: geminiani, 1812.' (on the reverse)
oil on canvas, unlined, oval
29¼ x 23 1/8 in. (74.3 x 58.7 cm.)
a pair (2)
Provenance
Hon. Charles Nelson (1896-1964); Christie's, London, 20 November 1953, lot 127 (160 gns. to Nicholls).
Anonymous sale [The Property of a Gentleman]; Sotheby's, London, 15 April 1999, lot 135, the second as dated 17[.]4.
Literature
A. Busiri Vici, Andrea Locatelli e il paesaggio romano del Settecento, Rome, 1976, no. 251 (the former only).
Special notice
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Lot Essay

The dating of the present pair has been subject to much discussion. In the 1950s, it was thought that the date could read 1704, which would be inconceivable if one were to follow Busiri Vici's opinion that Locatelli was born in 1695, but could be substantiated by the belief of some scholars that Locatelli was born in the 1660s. Stylistically, however, the confident handling of the paint is comparable to Locatelli's signed and dated ovals of 1741 in the National Gallery, Prague (inv. nos. 0-2719 and 0-2720). At the time of the publication of the catalogue raisonné in 1976, Busiri Vici only knew of the first of the present pair of pictures, dating it to circa 1740, and acknowledging that it would have had a companion piece. He noted in the catalogue that the picture (dirty at the time) ranked as 'one of the most significant products of Locatelli's Bambocciante phase... ' and that this painting was fully 'indicative of Locatelli's stature as an artist and his importance not only within the context of the Roman school, but for the entire 18th century' (loc. cit.).

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