Andrea Locatelli

Private collection, Rome;
By whom anonymously sold, Milan, Sotheby's, 12 November 2003, lot 165, where acquired.

A. Busiri Vici, Andrea Locatelli, Rome 1976, pp. 174 and 178, cat. nos. 260 and 261, reproduced pp. 170 and 172, figs. 205 and 207.

The following condition report has been provided by Simon Parkes of Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc. 502 East 74th St. New York, NY 212-734-3920, simonparkes@msn.com, an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. Both of these works are restored and look very well. The canvases are lined. The stretchers are old but probably not original. The paint layers are clearly un-abraded in both pictures. The retouching is good in both pictures. The lighter colors of the sky in the composition of Adonis has attracted retouches around the cherubs addressing some cracking and isolated losses. In the darker colors of the foliage and figure group, the restorations are confined to the lower right bottom edge and a vertical line beginning in Venus' left hand running for 2 inches, but there are barely any other retouches throughout the remainder of this composition. There are fewer retouches in the composition with Vulcan. There are hardly any in the sky and a few in the mountains beyond in the center left. There are a few restorations in Vulcan's back and in his lower left thigh. The remaining retouches are mostly tiny isolated spots in no particular concentration. The work should be hung in their current condition.
"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."

Andrea Locatelli first trained with his father, Giovanni Francesco, and while he also painted genre subjects, it was his views of the Roman campagna which earned him the reputation as of one of the foremost painters in 18th-century Rome.  It is difficult to establish a clear chronology for Locatelli's works, in part due to the fact that he rarely signed or dated his paintings, but also because his style is fairly consistent throughout his career.  His early works appear to be inspired by Salvator Rosa's rocky landscapes, though by the mid-1720s his paintings are more classical and veer towards the style of Jan Frans van Bloemen (see lots 328 and 331).  It is during this period that demand for his landscapes grew amongst the noble families of Rome as well as the Grand Tourists arriving from the northern countries. 

The growing demand, and gradually changing taste, from the Grand Tourists encouraged artists like Locatelli to explore themes beyond landscapes and vedute to keep up with the market.  Mythological scenes such as these of Venus became popular and added a new dimension to Locatelli's landscapes. 

Busiri Vici considered this pair of paintings to be fine examples of Locatelli's mature style, and believed the figures were done by an artist close in style to Giuseppe Tommasi, who trained under Carlo Cignani in Rome and is known to have collaborated on a number of works with Locatelli.  Anthony Clark, in an opinion cited but not shared by Busiri Vici, alternatively believed the figures to be in the style of Andrea Casali.  Busiri Vici also notes that certain elements in Venus and Adonis may have Flemish origins.