The Triumph of David

Details

FRANCESCO FONTEBASSO (VENICE 1707-1769)
The Triumph of David
oil on canvas
39 3/4 x 53 in. (100.9 x 134.7).

Provenance

Silbermann collection, Vienna.
Pospisil collection, Venice.
Private collection, Milan.
Anonymous sale; Sotheby's, London, 7 December 1960, lot 82,
Anonymous sale; Christie's, London, 5 December 1969, lot 24,
Private collection, London.
Anonymous sale; Christie's, London, 17 July 1970, lot 141.
[Anonymous sale]; Christie's, New York, 12 January 1978, lot 100,
Anonymous sale; Sotheby's, London, 9 July 1998, lot 106, where acquired after the sale by the present owner.

Literature

R. Palluchini, 'Altri soffiti del Fontebasso', Arte Veneta, 1961, pp. 190-191, fig. 242.
E. Martini, La pittura veneziana del Settecento, Venice, 1964, p. 238, under no. 203.
G. Bolaffi, Catalogo Enciclopedico dei pittori e degli incisori italiani, V, Turin, 1974, p. 52.
M. Magrini, Francesco Fontebasso, Vincenza, 1988, p. 158, no. 106, fig. 137.

Special Notice

This lot is offered without reserve.

Conditions of sale

Brought to you by

Jonquil O’Reilly Vice President, Specialist, Head of Sale

JOReilly@christies.com +1 212 636 2478

Lot Essay

Publishing Francesco Fontebasso's Triumph of David in 1964, Ridolfo Palluchini dated the painting to the 1750s, comparing it to the artist's fresco in Palazzo Contarini, Venice (loc. cit.). Egidio Martini, meanwhile, considered it to be later in date, executed at the end of Fontebasso's career in the 1760s (loc. cit.). A correct dating would appear to be somewhere between the two. This Triumph of David is close in style to the artist's two depictions of the Worship of the Golden Calf, one in a Venetian private collection and another painted in 1759 as part of a decorative cycle for the Prince Bishop of Trent, Felice Alberto d'Enno, for the Castello del Buonconsiglio, Trent (see Magrini, op. cit., p. 202, fig. 160 and pp. 180-182, fig. 158).

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