(Florence 1711–1767)
Landscape with figures by an equestrian statue,
oil on canvas, 55 x 33.5 cm, framed

Provenance:
Marchese Andrea Gerini, Florence

Literature:
M. Gregori, Maestri della Pittura Italiana III, Florence 2009, pp. 43–46;
C. Sisi/R. Spinelli, Il Fasto e la Ragione Arte del Settecenti a Firenze, Giunti, Prato 2009, p. 248-249, fig. 89

Exhibited:
Florence, Uffizi Gallery, Il fasto e la Ragione, Arte del Settecento a Firenze, 30 May-30 September 2009

Print:
Cosimo Zocchi, engraved 1769, published by A. Tosi, Giuseppe Zocchi e la Toscana del Settecento, p. 279, Le Monnier, Florence, 1997

The present painting dates from after 1750 and an etching made by Giuseppe’s brother Cosimo in 1769 reproduces the painting in counterpart and locates it in the gallery of Zocchi’s main patron, the Marquis Andrea Gerini (see ill.).

The light falls from the left and illuminates the scene where the figures are set under monumental sculpture. The landscape on the left in the background portrays ancient Roman ruins and evokes the painter’s stay in Rome. In this painting Zocchi was probably inspired by Panini, but demonstrates his personality in the rendering of atmosphere and the accurate depiction of the people and ruins.
Besides being a landscapist, the Florentine Giuseppe Zocchi was also an excellent and wide-ranging painter of figures and frescoes.

While his career started under the supervision of Ranieri del Pace, he later came into contact with the Marquis Andrea Gerini who enabled him to travel and study. Between the end of the 1730s and the beginning of the 1740s, he visited Venice, Milan, Bologna, and Rome, acquiring cultural influences.

After a time in Canaletto’s workshop, his landscapes, especially those of Florence, immediately became famous and requested. Besides these, Giuseppe dedicated himself to the more imaginative and fascinating genre of landscapes with ruins. His Roman and Venetian experiences were foundational and the influence of the works of Marco Ricci, Panini and Locatelli are visible in the present composition.

additional picture:
Cosimo Zocchi, Engraving after the painting by Giuseppe Zocchi, Biblioteca Marucelliana, Florence (1769)