Lot Essay
After training in the studio of Antonio Balestra, Pietro Longhi initially worked as a history painter. But in the mid-1730s he changed course to become the most successful painter of interior scenes in eighteenth-century Venice, capturing the city’s vibrancy and colour in small- format canvases that were hugely popular among patrons. His pictures show a quite different Venice to that of Canaletto and Guardi: instead of great ceremony and pomp, Longhi invites the viewer into intimate spaces, and shows the city as a site of seduction and pleasure, his mask-covered figures arousing intrigue and a sense of playful deceit. His son Alessandro Longhi suggested that his father wanted to paint pictures that amused, making ‘Conversazioni, Riduzzioni, con ischerzi d’amori e di gelosie’ (A. Longhi, Compendio delle Vite de’ Pittori Veneziani, Venice, 1972, unpaginated), which was confirmed by Pietro himself, who said that his work was designed to ‘be tasteful and give pleasure’ (A. Ravà, Pietro Longhi, Florence, 1923, pp. 27-28). Longhi held up a mirror to his contemporaries, showing a cast of flatterers, gamblers and gossips; it was this subject matter that sustained Longhi’s popularity. As Giuseppe Baretti said ‘Venetians are indeed more addicted to sensuality than more northern nations, and love cards rather too passionately’ (G. Baretti, An Account of the Manners and Customs of Italy, London, 1768, II, p. 144).
This picture is set under the arcade of the Doge’s Palace, with a fruit seller seated in the foreground and the two main protagonists centre stage, the gentleman wearing a domino mask and holding his companion’s dress. These two figures, in very similar poses, occur in a number of other canvases, including The Essence Seller (fig. 1) and The Charlatan (both Venice, Ca’ Rezzonico), the latter dated 1757. It is probable that the canvas in question is earlier in date, given the prominent inscription on the column in the left background, which celebrates the election of Francesco Loredan as Doge in 1752. The inscription on the wall on the right, in the scrolled cartouche, is probably a campaign advert for the seat of priest at the parish church of San Trovaso. The post was filled in 1752 by Francesco Comparato, who was chosen over Zuanne Farinato, the candidate that is mentioned here. Virtually identical inscriptions can be found in two differing versions and treatments of The Fortune Teller (London, National Gallery; and Venice, Ca’ Rezzonico).
This picture is set under the arcade of the Doge’s Palace, with a fruit seller seated in the foreground and the two main protagonists centre stage, the gentleman wearing a domino mask and holding his companion’s dress. These two figures, in very similar poses, occur in a number of other canvases, including The Essence Seller (fig. 1) and The Charlatan (both Venice, Ca’ Rezzonico), the latter dated 1757. It is probable that the canvas in question is earlier in date, given the prominent inscription on the column in the left background, which celebrates the election of Francesco Loredan as Doge in 1752. The inscription on the wall on the right, in the scrolled cartouche, is probably a campaign advert for the seat of priest at the parish church of San Trovaso. The post was filled in 1752 by Francesco Comparato, who was chosen over Zuanne Farinato, the candidate that is mentioned here. Virtually identical inscriptions can be found in two differing versions and treatments of The Fortune Teller (London, National Gallery; and Venice, Ca’ Rezzonico).