God the Father

God the Father holding a globe in his left hand, flanked on either side by crowds of putti or angels, after a drawing attributed to Ludovico Carracci

Etching, second half of 18^th Century, lettered with initials in image, at lower left “L.C. In.”.

The British Museum describes this very rare work as “by a late XVIIIc hand, reminiscent of Gaetano Gandolfi etchings”.

Beautiful proof, rich in tone, printed on contemporary laid paper, with thin margins, in excellent condition.

Painter and engraver Gaetano Gandolfi grew up in a family of artists. Instructed by his older brother Ubaldo Gandolfi and Ercole Lelli at the Accademia Clementina in Bologna, he spent the year 1760 in Venice, where he was influenced mainly by the work of Giambattista Tiepolo. After his return to Bologna, Gandolfi became one of the most sought-after painters of scenes and frescoes of his time.

Gandolfi was an important and eclectic figure in 18th-century Bologna. He was a painter and very skilled draughtsman, but he also devoted himself successfully to engraving. As his biographers agree, from a young age he used to progressively define the rightness of his intuition in drawing. Dozens and dozens of Gandolfi's sketches and drawings are found in museums and private collections around the world. Since the 18th century they have been collectibles and are a sure way to learn about the development of his thought and the evolution of the style that would influence the Bolognese school until the middle of the following century. His head, composition, and anatomical studies in pen and ink, pencil, and pastel were highly prized by his contemporaries. His work as a teacher at the Bologna Academy enabled him to exert a decisive influence on the work of later generations of artists. Gandolfi also produced a very large print oeuvre, which included reproductive prints and prints of his own invention.

Bibliografia

Cfr. F. Gozzi, Ubaldo, Gaetano e Mauro Gandolfi: le incisioni; Bartsch 1, Le Blanc 1.