Giacomo Quarenghi

Serracapriola's Study: The edges of the sheet are uneven. The work is discoloured in line with age and there are minor scattered ares of foxing and stains. One particular spot of foxing is visible in the upper right corner of the design of Serracapriola's Study. The work is attached to the mount in two places along the top edge. Held in a black painted wood frame with mat and under glass. Unexamined out of frame. Two Designs for Private Rooms: The edges of the sheets are uneven. The work is discoloured in line with age and there are minor scattered ares of foxing and stains. Framed together with mat and in a black painted wood frame and under glass. Unexamined out of frame.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

This exceptional group of eleven designs by Giacomo Quarenghi were recently discovered and extracted from a leather-bound album of drawings by various artists, principally of theatre designs by Alessandro Sanquirico (1777–1849) who worked at the Scala of Milan at the beginning of the nineteenth century.

Palladian architect Quarenghi was the most celebrated in Imperial Russia under Catherine the Great, officially being appointed court architect to the Empress not long after arriving in St Petersburg from Italy in 1779. His first high profile commission was the English Palace in Peterhof. Other celebrated examples of his work are Alexander Palace at Tsarskoe Selo, the Hermitage Theatre and the Smolny Institute of Noble Maidens in St Petersburg. He produced a large number of designs for the Empress and her court during the two decades he spent in Russia.

Born in Naples, Antonino Maresca Donnorso di Serracapriola was an eminent career diplomat. As Ambassador of the Two Sicilies to Russia from 1782, he was intimate with Catherine the Great, Paul I and finally with Alexander I. He negotiated a trade agreement between Russia and Naples. After the fall of the Bourbon family in Naples in 1806 as a result of the battle of Campo Tenese, he refused to serve Murat, the new King placed in Naples by Napoleon and his residence became a hotbed of opposition to the French. During the French invasion of Russia in 1812, he was entrusted by the Tsar with secret missions to Persia, the Ottoman Empire and England. At the Congress of Vienna he supported the reinstatement of the Bourbon family in Naples and when at last they returned to the throne, he settled back into his birthplace after nearly thirty two years’ absence only to be posted immediately back to St Petersburg where he died in 1822.

The two designs for palace chambers can be compared to no.183 and no.89 in Giacomo Quarenghi disegni architettonici, St Petersburg: Ermitage,1999.

We are grateful to Emmanuel Ducamp for providing additional cataloguing information.