(Steinach/ Brenner 1725–1804 Milan)
Roman soldiers attacking a sedan chair (possibly the murder of Cicero at the hand of Herennius, after Plutarch),
signed and dated bottom right: Knoller f./1791,
oil on canvas, 96,5 x 116 cm, framed

Provenance:
private collection, Vienna

We are grateful to Edgar Baumgartl, who confirmed the present painting to be an authentic work by Martin Knoller. It will be added to a future supplement of his catalogue raisonné published in 2004.

Martin Knoller was not merely one of the greatest fresco painters of the 18th century, but also created historical paintings, mythological- and allegorical scenes (cf. E. Baumgartl, Martin Knoller 1725–1804, Munich-Berlin 2004, p 108–110 and p 271f., No. HMA 1, HMA 2 and HMA 3). The present painting was executed in Vienna, where Knoller resided from the summer of 1790 to the summer of 1793. It may be the counterpart to Cicero discovering the tomb of Archimedes (1791) at the Prague National Gallery (cf. E. Baumgartl, op. cit., WVZ-No. HMA 10).

In September 1791, Knoller became a member of the Vienna Academy. With the help of his generous patron, Prince Kaunitz, the painter enjoyed great success in the imperial residence.
On 17th October 1791, Knoller wrote to Count Wilczek: “Wehre ich umb einige Jahre friher anhero auf Wien gekomen, so hete ich meine famiglia glickhlich machen könen” (zit. nach E. Baumgartl, op. cit., p 30). (“Had I arrived in Vienna a few years earlier, I might have made my family happy”)

Provenance:
private collection, Vienna

We are grateful to Edgar Baumgartl who confirmed the present painting to be an authentic work by Martin Knoller. It will be added to a future supplement of his catalogue raisonné published in 2004.
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