(Modena 1700–1777 Naples)
The Bacino di San Marco, Venice;
and Piazza Navona, Rome,
oil on canvas, each 192 x 132.5 cm, framed, a pair (2)

Provenance:
Private collection, Milan

We are grateful to Mauro Lucco for confirming the attribution, after seeing the present paintings in the original.

Eugenio Martini considered the two present paintings to be among the most refined works by Antonio Joli and he dated the pair to the 1760s, after the artist’s journeys around Germany and Spain, and before he moved to Naples

These two large and sophisticated images are representations of actual views in Rome and Venice, both of which were essential destinations during the Grand Tour. The imaginary architectural features in the foreground work as frames for the two prospects and soft pearly shades are used to intensify the sense of distance. The old arcades in evidence as frames are typical of the repertoire of the artist, developed in Rome in the workshop of Giovanni Paolo Panini.

The style of the paintings is characteristic of the artist’s maturity, when he was strongly influenced by Canaletto. Joli displays a fascinating attention for the details of the Venetian architecture, as well as for the imposing monumentality of Rome. The dark arches, which keep the views contained and contrast elegantly with the light sky, displays the artist’s skill in creating a captivating architectural work.

The artist´s formation in the studios of the Galli-Bibiena family and of Giovanni Paolo Panini are strongly apparent in the present compostion which are also reminiscent of his work as a scene painter in Modena and Perugia. By 1735 he was in Venice, where he came into contact with Canaletto and again worked as a scene painter. He travelled widely in Europe, and from Germany went to London, where he lived from 1744 to 1748. He had a managerial position at the King’s Theatre, Haymarket, and decorated the Richmond mansion of its director, John James Heidegger, with view paintings. From 1750 to 1754 he worked in Madrid. In 1754 Joli returned to Venice and in 1755 was elected a founding member of the Venetian Academy. Before long he had settled in Naples, where he became painter to Charles VII (from 1759, Charles III of Spain), whose court entertainments he organized. His works were also popular with Grand Tourists, and he painted a series of views for Lord John Brudenell (some Duke of Buccleuch priv. col.). His paintings have a particular interest as documents of 18th-century urban life.

Ralph Toledano does not accept the attribution on the basis of high-resolution digital photographs. However, Mauro Lucco accepts the attribution after examination of the present pair of paintings in the original.