(Milan 1623–1683)
A landscape with ruins and Alexander the Great in front of the Tomb of Achilles,
oil on canvas, 91 x 132.5 cm, framed

Provenance:
sale, Lempertz, Cologne, 24 April 1965, lot 45

Literature:
A. Busiri Vici, Giovanni Ghisolfi (1623–1683). Un pittore milanese di rovine romane, ed. by F. Cosmelli, Rome 1992, p. 90, no. 46

The present painting, with its depiction of an ancient scene set in a landscape with ruins, is attributed to the Milan-based painter Giovanni Ghisolfi and is stylistically closely related to the latter’s Ruins of Carthage in the Dresden Picture Gallery (see A. Busiri Vici, Giovanni Ghisolfi [1623–1683] – Un pittore milanese di rovine romane, ed. by F. Cosmelli, Rome 1992, p. 91, no. 48).

The way in which the rich figural staffage is executed clearly betrays the influence of Salvator Rosa (1615–1673), who was an inspiration for the artist throughout his career. Ghisolfi had primarily familiarised himself with the latter’s work through Rosa’s engravings. Paintings by Rosa depicting scenes from antiquity include, for example, the Martyrdom of Atilius Regulus in the Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, and Alexander and Diogenes in Althorp House, Northamptonshire (see L. Salerno, L’opera completa di Salvator Rosa, Milan 1975, nos. 68 and 113). Ghisolfi was above all famous for his architectural capriccios – fantastic landscapes with ruins of Roman temples and figures anticipating the style of Giovanni Paolo Panini.

The present painting comes with a photo certificate issued by Hermann Voss on 24 August 1964 (in photocopy).