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Lot Essay
This capriccio, dating to the 1640s, has been uncontestibly attributed to Michele Marieschi since it was first published by Rezio Buscaroli in 1935 (op cit.). An engraving of this subject by Bernardo Zilotti, inscribed 'Michele Marieschi', further identifies it as a work of the artist. Ralph Toledano places this work among a small group of views in which Marieschi studies these rustic houses op cit, C.41- C.49), delighting in the variety provided by the textured walls and the timber staircases. This painting is rare among them, as it is lacks a pendant.
The quality of the figures and horses depicted here is particularly fine, and while Marieschi was an able figure painter, there is little doubt that these are the work of Francesco Simonini. Best known as a painter of battle scenes, and active early on in Rome and Bologna, Simonini settled in Venice in the late 1720s. The two artists may have encountered one another in the circle of Marshal Johann Mattias Schulenburg, the patron of Giambattista Pittoni, Giovanni Battista Piazzetta and Giovanni Antonio Guardi, among others.
The quality of the figures and horses depicted here is particularly fine, and while Marieschi was an able figure painter, there is little doubt that these are the work of Francesco Simonini. Best known as a painter of battle scenes, and active early on in Rome and Bologna, Simonini settled in Venice in the late 1720s. The two artists may have encountered one another in the circle of Marshal Johann Mattias Schulenburg, the patron of Giambattista Pittoni, Giovanni Battista Piazzetta and Giovanni Antonio Guardi, among others.