Travellers resting, with a couple making music in a landscape

Born in London where his actor parents were touring in 1727, Francesco Casanova spent his youth in Venice. His brother, Giovanni Giacomo, the adventurer and lothario, records in his Mémoires that Francesco trained in Giovanni Antonio Guardi's studio for ten years, until 1749. In 1752 he went to Dresden, where he was influenced by Philips Wouwerman, an influence illustrated particularly in the subject matter of this picture. Five years later he settled in Paris where he became a member of the Académie, as well as a much sought-sought after court painter of battle, hunting and equestrian scenes.