(Rome 1642- 1693 Genoa),
An architectural capriccio populated by figures,
oil on canvas, 144 x 188 cm, framed

Provenance: Villa Emo di Fanzolo di Vedelago, Treviso;
European private collection.

We are grateful to Prof. David R. Marshall for confirming the authenticity of the present painting on the basis of a photograph.

According to Prof. Marshall, the composition is closely related to works by Codazzi executed in the 1670s for the Palazzo Ruspoli in Rome (cf. D. R. Marshall, Viviano and Niccolò Codazzi, 1993, pp. 403–406, NC 62–64).
Niccolò Codazzi was the son of Viviano Codazzi (c. 1606–1670) and a member of the latter’s workshop. It is above all his paintings from the 1660s and 1670s that are difficult to distinguish from those by his father. Niccolò seems to have also worked as a painter of illusionistic architecture and designer of festival decorations. He collaborated, among others, with the figure painters Theodor Helmbreker and Jacob de Heusch. In 1681 he applied at the Academy in France, where he was admitted thanks to the intervention of Charles Lebrun. Having completed his training, he returned to Italy, most probably to Rome. In 1684, he rented a house in Zerbino near Genoa, where he lived until his death.