Pietro Longhi (Venice 1701 - 1785) circle of The... Lot 6

Pietro Longhi (Venice 1701 - 1785) circle of The Declaration - Meeting between a procurator and his wife Pair of oil on canvas 70 x 55 cm Both works derive from Longhi originals repeatedly replicated by the circle, in particular by the so-called Maestro dei Riflessi to whom is attributed the canvas Dichiarazione, kept at the Museo Cà Rezzonico in Venice. Pietro Longhi has the great merit of having told us, through his works, about life in Venice in the 18th century. Indeed, although the artist started out inspired by French engravings that recounted the luxurious fable of the nobility beyond the Alps, he was able to convey with the objectivity of a chronicler the vices and virtues of a city, a state, and a civilization that had now reached the end of its millennial history. His innovative and original artistic contribution met with high approval, so much so that many colleagues, both countrymen and "outsiders," devoted themselves to following and imitating him. In Venice we find the great Francesco Guardi (Venice 1712 - 1793) who often painted interiors in the Longhi taste (see the specific study Francesco Guardi e Pietro Longhi edited by Filippo Pedrocco in I Guardi - Vedute, capricci, feste, disegni e quadri turcheschi - edited by Alessandro Betagno, Saggi Marsilio 2006) as did his brother Gianantonio (Vienna 1699 - Venice 1760) as shown by the works preserved at the Museo del Settecento in Cà Rezzonico in Venice ( see Il parlatoio e il Ridotto, nuove proposte e vecchi dilemmi in Francesco Guardi edited by Dario Succi, Silvana Editore). In the same sphere we find several painters of Venetian extraction: the enigmatic Maestro del Ridotto and Maestro dei riflessi, Andrea Pastò (Venice 1746 - 1806), Giuseppe de Gobbis (active in the 1770s) and the Veronese Andrea Boscarati (Verona 1721 - Venice 1807). Finally, the work of the Roman Lorenzo Gramiccia (Cave 1702 - Venice 1795) should not be overlooked, who arrived in the lagoon via Bologna in 1765 and lent himself not only to religious painting but also to satisfying the abundant demand for Longhi-style painting present in the city and beyond. Pietro Longhi (Venice 1701 - 1785) circle of The Statement - The Meeting Between a Prosecutor and His Wife. A pair of oil on canvas 70 x 55 cm Both artworks derive from originals by Longhi replicated several times by the circle, in particular by the so-called Master of Reflections to whom the Declaration canvas, preserved in the Cà Rezzonico Museum in Venice, is attributed.