Lot 60
60
Giuseppe Valeriani (Rome 1708-1762 Saint Petersburg)
THE PROPERTY OF THE LATE ANTHONY HOBSON (1921-2014)
Giuseppe Valeriani (Rome 1708-1762 Saint Petersburg)

Design for the ceiling of the Grand Ballroom of the Stroganov Palace in Saint Petersburg: A prince delivered by Mercury to Jupiter and Juno, with Minerva banishing the Vices; and A design for the border of the ceiling decoration in the Grand Hall of the Stroganov Palace

Details
Giuseppe Valeriani (Rome 1708-1762 Saint Petersburg)
Design for the ceiling of the Grand Ballroom of the Stroganov Palace in Saint Petersburg: A prince delivered by Mercury to Jupiter and Juno, with Minerva banishing the Vices; and A design for the border of the ceiling decoration in the Grand Hall of the Stroganov Palace
inscribed '9' and illegibly inscribed (recto) and with inscription ‘R10=’ and 'M.2' [?] (verso) (i); with inscription 'Plafon della Sala del/ Baron de Stroganof' (recto) (ii)
black chalk, pen and brown ink, grey and brown wash, lightly and tightly squared in black chalk, countermark IV (1); pencil, pen and black ink, grey wash (2)
11 1/8 x 14¾ in. (28.2 x 37.5 cm.) (1); 5¾ x 7 7/8 in. (14.5 x 20 cm.) (2)
(2)
Provenance
The Duke of Leuchtenberg.
E. Fatio (L. 3472); Nicolas Rauch S.A., Geneva, 3-4 June 1959, part of lot 241 (an album of 143 drawings of various sizes by Valeriani and his Studio).
with Colnaghi, London, 1960; where acquired by Anthony Hobson.
Literature
A. Benois, 'Review of St. Petersburg exhibition', Stary Gody, May 1912, pp. 3-28 (article on the whole album).
Exhibited
Saint Petersburg, Académie des Sciences de Russie, Lomonosoff et l'époque d'Elisabeth, 1912 (the whole album of which these drawings were part).

Lot Essay

These two drawings are studies for one of Valeriani's most important works, the frescoed ceiling of the Grand Ballroom of the Stroganov palace in Saint Petersburg, executed circa 1755. The larger sheet shows the design for the central panel, and the smaller one is a design for a section of the trompe-l'oeil architectural border.

The Stroganov palace stands in the centre of Saint Petersburg on the Nevsky Prospect, not far from the Imperial Winter Palace, testifying to the prominence of the Stroganov family. The Stroganovs were significant patrons of the arts - founding art schools, building churches and art collections. In 1752 Baron Sergei Stroganov commissioned the palace from a design by the Italian architect Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli (1700-1771).

More from Old Master & British Drawings & Watercolours

View All
View All