Two busts of men
| Reference: | S44163 |
| Author | Pietro ROTARI |
| Year: | 1725 ca. |
| Measures: | 80 x 117 mm |
| Reference: | S44163 |
| Author | Pietro ROTARI |
| Year: | 1725 ca. |
| Measures: | 80 x 117 mm |
Description
Two busts of men. The bust on the right of the print depicts an older man with a large beard, wearing a cap on his head and looking downward. The one on the left is a younger man, with bare chest, shoulders, and head, looking skyward. On the upper left: "P. Ç."; on the right we find Rotari's signature, through the monogram ".P. R."
The print is one of thirty etchings known and described by Baudi De Vesme as the work of Pietro Rotari. The "P. R." that appears in the upper right is, in fact, the monogram of his name, while the "P.C." written on the left is the initials of the artist, from whom the etching was taken and that is Paolo Caliari known as the Veronese. As Nagler records (in "Monogrammisten"), there are two prints bearing these two pairs of initials and one is this one.
The painter Pietro Rotari, born in Verona on October 4, 1707, had several masters. At first he received drawing lessons from the engraver Robert Van Audenaerd, then came under the direction of his compatriot Antonio Balestra; at eighteen he went to Venice, where he studied for two years; in Rome he was a pupil of Francesco Trevisani for four years; and finally, in Naples, he spent three years in Solimena's workshop. He returned to his hometown around 1734, where he painted many church pictures and portraits and obtained the title of count. Around 1734 he made a trip to Vienna and from there, at the invitation of Augustus III, King of Poland, he went to Dresden. In 1736 he left Saxony, called to St. Petersburg by Empress Elizabeth, who appointed him her first painter. In Russia he executed a large number of portraits for the imperial family, including one of Empress Catherine II, known from the engraving of C. G. Guttenberg; he also produced some large history paintings, including the Continence of Scipio and Venus and Adonis. He was at the height of success and favor when he died, almost suddenly, in St. Petersburg on August 31, 1762. A few days after his death, Empress Catherine chose some of Rotari's paintings that had remained in her studio and for which she paid the painter's heirs the sum of 4,000 rubles. The Uffizi Gallery preserves a self-portrait by Rotari. Although he devoted himself mainly to oil painting, between 1725 and 1731 he also worked on etchings, reproducing works by his master, Veronese, Trevisani, Maratta and also his own subjects.
Etching, circa 1725/30. Magnificent proof, rich in tone, impressed on contemporary laid paper, with very thin margins, in perfect condition. Rare.
Bibliografia
De Vesme A. Le Peintre-graveur italien (1906), p. 471 n. 21.
Pietro ROTARI (Verona 1707 – San Pietroburgo 1762)
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Italian painter. His artistic career began as a youthful distraction, but his talent quickly became apparent, and he entered the studio of Antonio Balestra in Verona, remaining there until he was 18. He spent the years 1725–7 in Venice and then moved c. 1728 to Rome, where he stayed for four years as a student of Francesco Trevisani. Between 1731 and 1734 he studied with Francesco Solimena in Naples before returning to Verona, where he set up his own studio and school. His most notable early independent works are multi-figured altarpieces, which emulate 17th-century Roman and Neapolitan works. However, he also studied the smaller, more intimate paintings of Roman Baroque artists, and these influenced his later works. He fell victim to the wanderlust that appears to have been endemic to 18th-century Venetian painters, and c. 1751 he travelled to Vienna, where he was able to study works by Jean-Etienne Liotard, whose clean pictorial smoothness impressed him. He later moved to Dresden, where he became known for his imaginary portraits of figures displaying various emotions, such as the so-called Portrait of a Maid (Warsaw, N. Mus.). Admirably composed and coloured, these works are painted with great sensitivity of observation.
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Pietro ROTARI (Verona 1707 – San Pietroburgo 1762)
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Italian painter. His artistic career began as a youthful distraction, but his talent quickly became apparent, and he entered the studio of Antonio Balestra in Verona, remaining there until he was 18. He spent the years 1725–7 in Venice and then moved c. 1728 to Rome, where he stayed for four years as a student of Francesco Trevisani. Between 1731 and 1734 he studied with Francesco Solimena in Naples before returning to Verona, where he set up his own studio and school. His most notable early independent works are multi-figured altarpieces, which emulate 17th-century Roman and Neapolitan works. However, he also studied the smaller, more intimate paintings of Roman Baroque artists, and these influenced his later works. He fell victim to the wanderlust that appears to have been endemic to 18th-century Venetian painters, and c. 1751 he travelled to Vienna, where he was able to study works by Jean-Etienne Liotard, whose clean pictorial smoothness impressed him. He later moved to Dresden, where he became known for his imaginary portraits of figures displaying various emotions, such as the so-called Portrait of a Maid (Warsaw, N. Mus.). Admirably composed and coloured, these works are painted with great sensitivity of observation.
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