Andrea Locatelli (Rome, 1695 – 1741) “Soldiers at rest”

The canvas is in perfect condition with its contemporary golden frame

The work is sold accompanied by an expertise by Prof. Giancarlo Sestieri

The canvas is based on an original compositional idea, dominated by a tree with large trunks that frame the space dedicated to the figures like wings. The painting shows the significant influence exercised by Salvator Rosa on Locatelli's training, as is evident in the layout from bottom to top and in the almost theatrical pose of the figures of the Roman soldiers, probably the result of direct knowledge of the series of prints representing soldiers and warriors created by the Neapolitan master.

The painter was born in Rome in 1695, we have little information about his training with his father Giovanni Francesco and his uncle Pietro Lucatelli born in Rome in 1634. We also know of a period of apprenticeship with the marine painter Monsù Alto. He was later with the landscape artist Fergioni until 1712, probably in the company of Paolo Anesi (Rome, 1697 – 1773). After this date, Locatelli was active in full autonomy and accredited with the most famous Roman families, such as the Ruspoli, the Albani, the Ottoboni and the Colonna, who were his main patrons, but without forgetting the Savoy commissions through Filippo Juvarra, who he ordered him to represent the north and west facades of the Castello di Rivoli. The painter fits into the difficult artistic environment of the Capitol to the best of his ability, producing fantasy landscapes with an archaeological character following the example of Giovanni Ghisolfi, van Bloemen, realistic and Arcadian views, up to depicting compositions following the example of Salvator Rosa and popular scenes which influenced Paolo Monaldi. The landscape in question, dating back to the third decade of the XNUMXth century, on a scenic layout reminiscent of Dughettina and Rosiana, well expresses the landscape sensitivity of the painter, visible in the pictorial ductus and in the rarefied and clear atmosphere, very close in its results to Paolo's tests Anesi and the best eighteenth-century evolution of the Salvator Rosa examples.