(Este 1631–1722 Venice)
A group of figures with musicians and a young boy,
oil on canvas, 180 x 316 cm, unframed

Provenance:
Private collection, Bergamo

In the present painting, a group of women playing musical instruments including a flute, a lyre and a tambourine are illustrated to the left, whilst on the right a child, as if suspended in mid-air, dances to their music. The figures are depicted full-length and close to the picture plane, and thereby involve the viewer in the theatrical scene with great effect. This compact group is rendered with fast fluid strokes, while the light falling from the left emphasises the monumentality of the figures.

Antonio Zanchi trained in Venice with Matteo Ponzone, studying the great masters of the Venetian tradition, such as Tintoretto. Subsequently he approached the diverse style of Luca Giordano and Giovanni Battista Langetti, who had brought the naturalistic language of Ribera to Venice. Following these influences, Zanchi asserted himself as one of the leading exponents of the so-called tenebrosi group of painters, whose style is distinguished by strong contrasts of light and shade and an accentuation of dramatic effects.