ATRIBUIDO A ANTONIO JOLI

ATTRIBUTED TO ANTONIO JOLI (Modena, c. 1700 - Naples, Italy, 1777) "Caprice with Roman Baths" .

Oil on canvas. On the back, on the frame, there is the label of the Sala Pares in Barcelona and old numbering. Provenance: Madrid, Apolinar Sanchez collection? (until 1952); Barcelona, ​​Sala Pares (1952); Madrid, private collection. Bibliography and reference bibliography: Manzelli, Mario., “Antonio Joli. Opera pittorica”, Venice, 2000, p. 126, cat. no. C5; Marshall, David Ryley., “Viviano and Niccolò Codazzi and the Baroque Architectural Fantasy”, Milan, 1993, pp. 65-78; Toledano, Ralph., “Antonio Joli”, Turin, 2006, pp. 119-123. Joli'works mostly depict urban landscapes and topographical views that, reflecting the influence of masters such as Vanvitelli and Canaletto, are intended to reflect reality or record civic and religious events. An excellent example of this aspect of his output is found in the Prado Museum, which houses the paintings of the Departure of Charles of Bourbon to Spain. However, there is another, no less interesting, part of his output, in which he depicts archaeological views, such as the one shown here, which demonstrate his time in Rome and the contact he maintained with Giovanni Paolo Panini. Various autograph works of this Architectural Capriccio with Roman Baths are preserved in which the artist repeats the same composition, introducing slight variations. Examples include the Palace of Caserta (inv. No. 4611) or the Temple Newsam in Leeds, as they are the closest in architectural development, although some of the figures have been modified. Other similar examples have passed through the trade and are preserved in various private collections. In Spain, an original with this same theme was documented in the collection of Apolinar Sanchez, an antique dealer based in Madrid who, during the first half of the 20th century, maintained commercial relations with the country'leading national and international collectors. This example has not been located due to the lack of a surviving photograph, although everything seems to indicate that it could be the painting shown here because, in the 1950s, the antique dealer used the Sala Pares to sell several important works from his collection. Like the aforementioned examples, this painting is inspired by a work on the same subject by Viviano Codazzi, housed in the Musee des Beaux-Arts in Chambery (Marshall 1993, VC.61), dated around 1648-1650, and also by a similar composition by Niccolo Codazzi, in the Musee des Beaux-Arts in Beziers (Marshall 1993, NC.79), dated around 1680. Another version by Raffaello Rinaldi, presumed to be Joli'master, is also known in the Musee Girodet di Montargis (Marshall 1991, p. 143, fig. 28). Dimensions: . Measurements: 138 x 138 cm