(Rome 1695–1741)
Rocky landscape with four figures in the foreground,
oil on canvas, 69 x 49 cm, framed

Literature:
A. B. Vici, Andrea Locatelli e il paesaggio romano del settecento, Rome 1976, no. 155

The present painting is a characteristic work of the Roman landscape painter and clearly illustrates Salvator Rosa’s influence. The present work and another portrait painting of the same size (see Vici 1976, no. 154) constitute an important pair in Locatelli’s oeuvre. It is likely that these two paintings were also part of a comprehensive series of at least four paintings. Andrea Locatelli is rightly regarded as one of the most important representatives of Roman landscape painting of the first half of the 18th century. He was the son of the little-known painter Giovanni Francesco Locatelli and a pupil of Monsù Alto, who is known for his coastal landscapes. Throughout the course of his artistic career Locatelli experimented with a wide variety of genres, his style developed from a form of Realism, drawn from 17th century models, towards an increasingly graceful idealisation. At first, like his teacher Alto, he concentrated on river and coastal landscapes, influenced both by the style of Salvator Rosa as well as landscapes with ancient ruins. Locatelli later oriented himself more towards the works of Gaspar Dughet and Jan Frans van Bloemen, painting many idyllic views of the Roman Campagna and mythological scenes set in Arcadian landscapes. The present painting also originates from this period.