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Lot Essay
Entirely in keeping with the painter’s works of the second half of the 1740s, this painting possesses many of the hallmarks of the pictures Giuseppe Zocchi produced following his return to Florence after travelling to various cities across Italy. These journeys were of particular significance for Zocchi’s career. In this Architectural capriccio he can be seen to combine the warm effects of light found in the work of Marco Ricci which he had observed in Venice, with architectural elements and details recalling pictures by vedutisti working in Rome, most notably Giovanni Paolo Panini.
Based on the tomb of Gaius Cestius in Rome, which he may have seen on his sojourn in the city or, indeed, in the compositions of Panini, the central pyramid in Zocchi’s composition lends focus to the picture, with its strong perspective and shading. This element recalls Zocchi’s later 1760 painting, L’Africa, now in the Museo dell’Opificio delle Pietre Dure, Florence (inv. no. 952) which employs a similar device.
The attribution to Zocchi was confirmed by Professor Dario Succi and Dr. Annalisa Scarpa Sonino at the time of the 2008 sale, both of whom proposed a date of circa 1745-50 for the painting.
Based on the tomb of Gaius Cestius in Rome, which he may have seen on his sojourn in the city or, indeed, in the compositions of Panini, the central pyramid in Zocchi’s composition lends focus to the picture, with its strong perspective and shading. This element recalls Zocchi’s later 1760 painting, L’Africa, now in the Museo dell’Opificio delle Pietre Dure, Florence (inv. no. 952) which employs a similar device.
The attribution to Zocchi was confirmed by Professor Dario Succi and Dr. Annalisa Scarpa Sonino at the time of the 2008 sale, both of whom proposed a date of circa 1745-50 for the painting.