Francesco Trevisani (Italian, 1656-1746) (Circle of)
Circle of Francesco Trevisani (Italian, 1656-1746)
The Judgement of Paris
Oil on Canvas
- Painting - 66cm x 59cm
- Frame - 83cm x 75cm
Notes
A very fine late 17th/early 18th century old master oil painting on canvas from the circle of Francesco Trevisani. The shepherd-prince Paris was chosen to settle the quarrel of which of the three goddesses Hera, Athena and Aphrodite was the fairest - Aphrodite can be seen to his right as he presents her with the golden "Apple of Discord", the symbol of her victory.
Condition
In very fine condition. The canvas lined in probably the late 19th century. There is fine craquelure throughout and with the stretcher lines showing slightly. There are a couple of old repairs though apparently free of significant restoration. Clean, most attractive, well framed and ready to hang.
Artist Information
Francesco Trevisani was an Italian painter, active in the period called either early Rococo or late Baroque (barochetto). Born in Capodistria, Istria (modern Koper now in Slovenia, then part of the Republic of Venice), he was the son of Antonio Trevisani, an architect, by whom he was instructed in the first rudiments of design. He then studied in Venice under Antonio Zanchi. He moved to Rome, where he remained until his death, in 1746. His brother, Angelo Trevisani remained a prominent painter in Venice.
In Rome, he was supported by Cardinal Pietro Ottoboni. He was strongly influenced by Carlo Maratta, as it is manifest in his masterpiece, the frescoes in San Silvestro in Capite (1695–1696). In this commission, he worked alongside Giuseppe Chiari and Ludovico Gimignani. In Rome, he was favored with the patronage of Cardinal Chigi. Chigi employed him in several considerable works, and recommended him to the protection of Pope Clement XI, who not only commissioned him to paint one of the prophets in San Giovanni Laterano, but engaged him to decorate the cupola of the cathedral in Urbino. There he represented, in fresco, allegories of the four Quarters of the World, in which he displayed much invention and ingenuity. He was employed by the Duke of Modena, in copying the works of Correggio and Parmigianino, and also painted in Brunswick, Madrid, Munich, Stockholm, and Vienna.
He also shows Maratta's influence in the cartoons for baptismal chapel in St. Peter's Basilica, in the oval with Prophet Baruch in San Giovanni in Laterano, and in the Death of St. Joseph in Sant'Ignazio. Trevisani painted scenes from the Life of the Blessed Lucy of Narni in the church of Narni (1714–15).
He also painted the huge canvas for the main altar of the Basilica of the Mafra National Palace in Portugal. He became a member of the Academy of Arcadia in 1712. Among his pupils were Francesco Civalli of Perugia, Cav. Lodovico Mazzanti, and Giovanni Batista Bruglii. Trevisani died in Rome in 1746.