(Ancona 1710–1780 Rome)
A winter landscape with travellers by a river,
oil on canvas, 63 x 93.5 cm, framed

We are grateful to Marietta Vinci-Corsini for confirming the attribution of the present painting on the basis of a photograph.

Francesco Foschi’s signed Winter landscape, now in the Musée de Grenoble, dated 1750, is the first known example of a subgenre that would become his specialty and among Italian artists, Foschi can be seen as the major exponent of winter landscapes. The genre of snow-covered scenery had been popular in Flanders from the seventeenth century onwards, however, Foschi interpreted the subject matter in a highly personal manner, and contributed to the depiction of an act of nature which was largely neglected by his contemporaries.

The limited palette used for the present painting, with its emphasis on various shades of white, a selective use of greys, and different hues of brown, ochre and green, is typical of Foschi’s artistic production. By means of this chromatic spectrum and a meticulous technique, Foschi achieved outstanding effects in the treetops, patches of grass, bare branches, and heavy clouds in the sky. Another characteristic feature of Foschi’s oeuvre is the way in which the figures are used to convey the proportions of the natural setting, which, despite its grandeur, presents a tranquil impression entirely in line with the taste of the eighteenth century. In 1755, Foschi moved to Paris, where he stayed until 1764. He then returned to Rome, where he was to live for the rest of his life. The notice of his death, published in the newspaper Ordinario Cracas (11 March 1780), describes him as the ‘famous painter of winter landscapes’, concentrating on the artist’s later period. Luigi Serra’s research undertaken in the first quarter of the twentieth century was followed by studies carried out by Marietta Vinci-Corsini, who examined Foschi’s life and work in a wider context.

Francesco Foschi was born in Ancona in 1710. Several of his brothers also became painters, the most well-known probably being Carlo Foschi, who specialised in seascapes. Francesco trained in the workshop of Francesco Mancini in Fano and at the beginning of his career, Foschi enjoyed the protection of Count Raimondo Bonaccorsi, whom he assisted in the compilation of an art collection that also included twelve episodes from Ovid’s Metamorphoses by Foschi. In 1729 the artist’s family moved to Rome, where the 19-year-old Francesco developed a keen interest in Panini and Vanvitelli’s topographical views. The impact of the latter’s panoramic vedute is already recognisable in the artist’s View of Loreto with Papal Portraits (Palazzo Apostolico, Loreto), a work that also displays his teacher Mancini’s influence in terms of figurative style.