Francesco Foschi (Ancona, 1710 - Roma, 1780) Attribuibile
Paesaggio invernale
Francesco Foschi
(Ancona, 1710 - Rome, 1780)
Attributable
Winter landscape
Oil on canvas
76 x 63 cm.
In frame 87 x 75 cm.
The compositional and stylistic elements of this pleasant snowy landscape allow us to link its authorship to the painter Francesco Foschi (Ancona, 1710 - Rome, 1780), who became famous for his evocative winter landscapes. Ancona-born and of noble origins, the painter received his training in Rome where he moved with his family in 1729, and later began his activity as an art dealer when he took up his last residence in Piazza di Spagna in 1764.
It was around the middle of the century that Foschi began to devote himself to landscape painting, specialising in country views and winter landscapes such as ours, a genre already widespread in Flanders since the 16th century but little frequented in Italy, except by a few Venetian painters such as Marco Ricci or Giuseppe Bison.
Foschi's winter landscapes, in particular, often depict views of his Apennines, and were very popular especially with wealthy foreigners who travelled the Italian peninsula from north to south on their Grand Tour. Many of his canvases took the route to the English and French markets, the latter proving particularly favourable to his production, where he was known in his painterly maturity as 'Chevalier Foschi'.
Recurrent in Foschi's paintings is the bare tree (or group of trees) in the foreground covered in snow, which almost constitutes a signature of the artist, as well as the motif of the small bridge and the classic country cottages with thatched roofs. As is often the case in this type of work, the author tends to accentuate the presence of nature, making the characters on a smaller scale.
Our attribution would be confirmed by comparison with 'A winter landscape with peasants next to farmsteads' painted by Francesco Foschi - with a compositional structure perfectly superimposable to the proposed canvas but in a horizontal format - and passed at Christie's in London (Old Master Pictures, 10 Dec 2003, lot 89, URL: https://www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-4221021?ldp_breadcrumb=back).
Another extremely similar composition is the painting, 'Winter Landscape with River, Bridge, Rustic House and Figures', which passed through Sotheby's and was again attributed to Francesco Foschi (5 July 1970, lot 10)
And again the 'Winter Landscape with fortified buildings' from the Glasgow Museums Resource Centre
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
The painting is completed by an attractive antique gilded wooden frame and is sold with a certificate of authenticity and descriptive iconographic card.
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