Winter landscape, Francesco Foschi (Ancona, 1710 – Rome, 1780) Attributable

Francesco Foschi (Ancona, 1710 – Rome, 1780) Attributable

Winter landscape

oil on canvas (76 x 63 cm. – In frame 87 x 75 cm.)

The compositional and stylistic elements of this pleasant snowy landscape allow us to connect its authorship to the painter Francesco Foschi (Ancona, 1710 – Rome, 1780), who became famous for his evocative winter panoramas. From Ancona and of noble origins, the painter received his training in Rome where he moved with his family in 1729, and subsequently began his activity as an art dealer, when in 1764 he took up his last residence in Piazza di Spagna.

It was around the middle of the century that Foschi began to dedicate himself to landscape painting, specializing in views of countryside and winter landscapes like ours, a genre already widespread in Flanders since the sixteenth century but little frequented in Italy, except by some Venetian authors such as Marco Ricci or Giuseppe Bison.

Foschi's winter panoramas, in particular, often portray glimpses of his Apennines, enjoying great success especially among the rich foreigners who traveled the Italian peninsula from north to south during their Grand Tour. Many of his canvases found their way to the English market or French, the latter in particular proving particularly favorable to his production, where he was known in his pictorial maturity as «Chevalier Foschi».

Recurring in Foschi's paintings is the bare tree (or group of trees) in the foreground covered in snow, which almost constitutes a signature of the artist, as well as the motif of the little bridge and the classic country houses with thatched roofs. As often happens in this type of works, the author tends to accentuate the presence of nature, rendering the characters on a smaller scale.

Our attribution would be confirmed thanks to the comparison with 'A winter landscape with peasants next to farmhouses' painted by Francesco Foschi - with a compositional structure perfectly superimposable on the proposed canvas but in a horizontal format - and sold at Christie's in London (Old Master Pictures, 10 Dec 2003, lot 89, URL: https://www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-4221021?ldp_breadcrumb=back).

Another extremely similar composition is the painting, 'Winter landscape with river, bridge, rustic house and figures', which went to Sotheby's and was also attributed to Francesco Foschi (5 July 1970, lot 10)
URL: https://catalogo.fondazionezeri.unibo.it/entry/photo/141586/Sotheby%27s%C2%A0%E2%80%94%C2%A0Foschi%2…
And again the 'Winter landscape with fortified buildings' of the Glasgow Museums Resource Centre
URL: https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/a-winter-landscape-with-fortified-buildings-83987

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

The painting is completed by a pleasant antique gilded wooden frame and is sold complete with a certificate of authenticity and descriptive iconographic card.

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