ANDREA LOCATELLI | A COASTAL SCENE WITH MOUNTAINS IN THE DISTANCE

Andrea Locatelli, born in Rome, was a famous landscape painter who gained much success as the Grand Tour became fashionable in Europe. As the aristocracy embarked on journeys to different countries, Locatelli's work served as a memory of the places they visited and as a result his paintings spread widely throughout Europe.

This idyllic scene of the coast, which includes some sparse buildings, the awe-inspiring immensity of the mountains and sea, and even a few figures, harmoniously shows the balance between nature and human life. A nearly identical work (location unknown) is listed in Andrea Busiri Vici's monograph on the artist.(1) These landscapes show the link between Locatelli and the earlier works of Salvator Rosa.

1. See A. B. Vici, Andrea Locatelli and Roman Landscape Painting of the Eighteenth Century, Rome 1976, cat. no. 112, reproduced.

A note on the Provenance:

Mary Mason Jones was known by all in New York City during the 19th century as a socialite who lived an extravagant life, advancing forward the norms of acceptable behavior during those times. She was the great-aunt of the American author Edith Wharton and inspired the character Mrs. Mason Mingott from The Age of Innocence.