Andrea Locatelli (Rome, 1695 – 1741), Architectural capriccio with ruins

Andrea Locatelli (Rome, 1695 – 1741)

Architectural capriccio with ruins

Oil on canvas, 47 x 62 cm

Criticism sheet Prof. Alessandro Agresti

Andrea Locatelli (Rome, 1695 – 1741), one of the most energetic Roman landscape painters of the eighteenth century, also assiduously dedicated himself to the trend of "architectural Capirccio". Proof of this is the present construction in which ancient ruins appear: a pyramid certainly taken from that of Cestia, a male statue and a colossal equestrian statue homage to Gian Lorenzo Bernini's masterpiece, The Vision of Constantine. All around, among the rubble of a distant way, small figurines created with quick touches: a soldier in armor lying down and a mother with her children while two others, in the distance, seem intent on looking at the horizon.

Andrea Locatelli (Rome, 1695 – 1741) was born in Rome in 1695; There is little information about his education 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, of whom we know only two works traced by Marco Chiarini in the deposits of Florentine museums. Subsequently he was 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 by the most famous Roman families. In fact, in 1715 he was called to participate in the decorations of Francesco Maria Ruspoli's Palazzo al Corso. In fact, Locatelli contributed to the lost complex of landscapes, seascapes and genre scenes, created by an international team of specialists such as Alessandro Marchi or Froncois Simonot known as il Borgognone, by creating the figures of a room. In the same years he worked for the Ottoboni family; commissioned by Cardinal Pietro are paintings in the Palazzo della Cancelleria. For the same cardinal he painted "several pictures" remembered, in 1739, by Charles de Brosses who, among the "bonnes peintures" of the Ottoboni collection; he only cites the paintings of Francesco Trevisani and “des paysages de Lucatelli”. In the Ottoboni circle, Locatelli probably met the architect Juvarra, active in the Palazzo della Cancelleria since 1710. In 1724 the latter procured him the commission, from Vittorio Amedeo II of Savoy, to execute two views of the castle of Rivoli; they were commissioned together with three others by Giovan Paolo Panini and Marco Ricci.

In 1738, commissioned by Cardinal Neri Corsini, nephew of Pope Clement XII, Locatelli participated in the renovation of Palazzo Riario, which had just been purchased by the Corsini family. But Locatelli's most passionate collectors were the Colonnas: for Girolamo II he painted 57 views and another thirty paintings were exhibited in the gallery of the Sciarra Colonna palace.

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 and van Bloemen, realistic and Arcadian views, to the point of depicting popular scenes which influenced Paolo Monaldi and his compositions were certainly important for the artistic career of Gian Paolo Pannini, who moved to Rome from his native Piacenza around 1715, soon becoming the most famous landscape artist of the time. In recent years, a probable exchange of influences has also been found between Locatelli and Marco Ricci who, in Rome around 1720, took inspiration for an engraving from the Roman painter's painting.

The present painting, as reported by Prof. Alessandro Agresti, is plausible, due to its loose and vibrant workmanship, to be a first idea of ​​a larger work. The workmanship of the figurines can be compared to paintings such as Landscape with Wayfarers and Landscape with Shepherds from a private collection. In the Capriccio with Figures near an Altar in Palazzo Corsini, the same stratagem is used to make the sculptures almost pulsating with life, in particular the workmanship of the bas-relief can be compared well to the base with soldiers in our painting.