(Davesco 1815–1884 Turin)
Piazza del Duomo, Milan,
tempera on canvas, 122 x 156 cm, framed

Provenance:
acquired by Gargantin in 1848;
Private collection, Turin 1974;
where acquired by the present owner

Literature:
A. Peyrot, Carlo Bossoli. Luoghi, personaggi, costumi, avvenimenti nell’Europa dell’Ottocento visti dal pittore ticinese, Turin 1974, vol. I, p.122, no.161, ill., p.124.

The present painting shows a broad view of the Piazza del Duomo in Milan, seen from the south. This work is of historical significance as it shows the piazza before its current arrangement: on the left of the composition are the Rebecchino quarter which was subsequently demolished in 1875 and part of the fifteenth century Coperto dei Figini destroyed in 1865. These were replaced by the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele and the Portici Settentrionali, respectively inaugurated in 1867 and 1875. On the right, part of the Palazzo Reale can be seen, while the open piazza is animated by figures, carriages and coloured awnings. The principal feature of the composition is, however, the vast cathedral towering against the blue-green sky.

The present work dates to the period when Bossoli was active in Milan from 1844 to 1849 and it can be identified as the painting sold to the banker Gargantini in 1848 (indeed Bossoli himself made a note of this in his Catalogo dei dipinti eseguiti in Russia, Italia, Francia ed Inghilterra dal 1833 al 1880, p. 15).

The majority of Bossoli’s large scale works in tempera were executed on the basis of sketches and studies taken from life which he made during his many journeys throughout Italy and Europe. Like many of the great vedutisti, view-painters, he gave his works a scenographic character.