The brawl in the tavern

The brawl in the tavern. Funny and unusual composition in which, inside a tavern a long wooden plate occupies the space for its full width, glasses and jugs of wine, the viewer witnesses a tumultuous scene charged with pathos. Five men are brawling; the bench on which they were seated has just broken, some grab a man by the hair, some are ready to slap him, and some with a jug in their hands are about to hit a man from behind. Playing cards and dice fall from the plate; the poses and plasticity of the bodies make real the scene witnessed by two characters on the right.

Etching c.1770-80, signed with initials on plate.

Beautiful proof, rich in tone, printed on contemporary laid paper, with thin margins, minimal restorations to lower left corner and right side, otherwise 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

F. Gozzi, Ubaldo, Gaetano e Mauro Gandolfi: le incisioni, n. 10/2; De Vesme n. 15; Bertelà n. 309.