Antonio Balestra

Anonymous sale, New York, Sotheby's, 13 March 1985, lot 94.

Il Giornale d'Arte, 1985, no. 23, p. 65, reproduced fig. 18;
L. Ghio, E. Baccheschi, Antonio Balestra, Bergamo 1975, p. 199, cat. no. 40, reproduced p. 249.

"The following condition report has been provided by Henry Gentle, an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. The canvas is lined and the paint layer is stable. There are visible discoloured restorations upper centre and lower left and two small scratches upper and lower left. There are some minor abrasions to the paint in the shepherds tunic, right , and to Joseph's hair. Apart from those areas mentioned above the painting is in very good condition. The removal of the discoloured varnish would improve the overall tonality. Cut down carved and gilt wood frame, some chips."
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

This dramatic portrayal of the Adoration of the shepherds is one of the most characteristic works of Balestra's maturity. A larger version of the same composition by Balestra is in Potsdam, Sanssouci, Staatliche Schlösser und Gärten, Bildergalerie.¹ Although the present work was unknown to Pallucchini in 1981, he does describe the Potsdam version in glowing terms, emphasising its "misto di languore barocchetto di origine marattesca e di luminismo che ha le sue lontane radici in Correggio, ammirato nei suoi soggiorni emiliani".²  The Potsdam version had been previously catalogued in the collection, albeit briefly, as by Gian Battista Pittoni which is somewhat surprising given that both it and the present work are amongst the most defining of the artist's Venetian period.

Having studied under Carlo Maratta (1625-1713) in Rome, Balestra returned to his native city of Verona in 1695 but soon moved on again, settling in Venice the following year and staying there until 1718. His innovative style, which fused the latest academic Roman teachings with the vigourous brushwork and vibrant colour schemes of the Venetians, won him important commissions throughout Italy. By the second decade of the 18th century he could count many well-known and aristocratic figures amongst his patrons, including Count Bonacorsi of Macerato, the Senator Conti of Lucca, Franz Lothar von Schönborn, the Elector-Archbishop of Mainz and the Duke of Richmond. 

1. See Ghio et al., under Literature, p. 202, cat. no. 50, reproduced p. 249.
2. See R. Pallucchini, La Pittura Veneziana del Seicento, vol. I, Milan 1981, p. 388.