Gherardo Poli (Florence c. 1680-1739 Pisa)
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Gherardo Poli (Florence c. 1680-1739 Pisa)

An architectural capriccio with elegant company in carriages and other figures gathering around a commedia dell'arte performance, a mountainous coastline beyond

Details
Gherardo Poli (Florence c. 1680-1739 Pisa)
An architectural capriccio with elegant company in carriages and other figures gathering around a commedia dell'arte performance, a mountainous coastline beyond
oil on canvas
24¼ x 55 in. (61.6 x 139.6 cm.)
Provenance
Sir Charles Waldstein, subsequently Walston (1856-1927), Newton Hall, Newton, Cambridge, by whom acquired in circa 1900, and by family inheritance through his son
Henry Walston, 1st Baron Walston (1912-1991).
Special notice
No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 17.5% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis

Lot Essay

We are very grateful to Franco Canepa for confirming the attribution on the basis of transparencies; he regards the painting as 'una delle opere di maggior qualità di Gherardo' and dates it to 1, noting that it contains several motifs that recur in Poli's oeuvre. Those motifs include elements taken from real life, for example the statue of Jupiter by Felice Parma (Florence, Poggio Imperiale) - depicted as an antique sculpture with a broken arm - and the church of Santa Maria Novella, Florence, despite Poli's use of artistic license, from the decoration of the façade.

The painting is closely comparable to that published by Franco Canepa in 2002 (Gherardo e Giuseppe Poli. La pittura di capriccio nella Toscana di primo Settecento, Pisa, 2002, p. 78, no. 41, illustrated). Both share the same confidence in handling and a maturity of composition that avoids the tendency towards overcrowding evident in some of his earlier work - indeed, as noted by Canepa, the present work could be understood as a 'pièce de reception' of the artist's work.

Franco Canepa will include the painting in the second edition of his book, due to be published next year.

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