(Parma 1686-after 1755 Venice or Florence) A series of four battle scenes, quattro scene di battaglie, oil on panel, 27.1 x 27.5, 27 x 31.8, 27 x 31.7 and 27 x 27.8 cm, framed

Provenance: private collection, Padua. Certificate: Prof Giuseppe Maria Pilo, Venice. These mounted battle scenes of extremely high quality are characteristic works by Francesco Simonini, who was the most renowned Venetian painter of battle scenes. He worked for illustrious clients, among them the famous field marshall, Count Johann Matthias von der Schulenburg, who had built up the most important collection of contemporary Venetian painting of the day. – In his certificate relating to these four paintings, Prof Pilo writes, “Una piccola ma nutrita - e deliziosa - serie, dipinta con grande brio e forza pittorica, con velocità di pennellata e di tocco e brillante vivacità cromatica, che per molti versi richiama alle analoghe caratteristiche della pittura di Francesco Guardi, in specie proprio per i colori vivaci e accesi, di preferenza intonati nei tipici e consueti accordi di giallo, azzurro e bianco cui fa da contrappunto il frequente richiamo del rosso...”. It is not difficult to see how familiar the painter was with the work of Francesco Guardi. Simonini started his career in Parma as a pupil of Ilario Spolverini. He later settled in Venice, where he became the leading exponent of the military genre. Aside from Marshall Schulenberg, mentioned above, his clients also included numerous British collectors, communication with whom was facilitated by Joseph Smith, the British consul in Venice. Between 1740 and 1745 Simonini became a member of the Fraglia, the Venetian guild of painters. The present four small-format battle scenes are good examples of Simonini’s talents in composition and coloration, and his narrative, lively settings. Prof Pilo states, “In conclusione, una pregevole e assai gradevole serie di esemplari pittorici tutti ‘giocati’ su una tematica che, anche per le motivazioni or ora richiamate, godeva in quegli anni di grande fortuna a Venezia e in Europa; com’è del resto oggi, per le qualità di brillante messinscena, coniugate, com’è nel caso presente, con la vivace e bella qualità pittorica”.