Pietro Antoniani, Milan circa 1740 - 1805 Naples

European private collection, until recently.

Pietro Antoniani was born in Milan, where three of his early works from the collection of Cardinal Giuseppe Pozzobonelli (1696-1783) remain in the collection of the Arcivescovado (see M. Bona Castellotti, Collezionisti a Milano nel '700, 1991, pp. 95-7). This is one of the few facts known about Antoniani, whose life is even less well documented than those of his contemporaries Pietro Fabris and Gabriele Ricciardelli. The only early mention of Antoniani is in Pietro's Zani's Enciclopedia Metodica... delle Belle Arti, 1817-24, where he is described as "pittor di vedute, pittor di marine: Patria, milanese: Merito, bravissimo: operava 1775" (cited by M.Utili, in All' ombra del Vesuvio, exh. cat., Naples, Castel Sant' Elmo, 12 May - 29 July 1990, p. 363). This concords well with the evidence provided by the paintings that have survived, some of which are dated 1771, 1775 and 1776. It is not known when Antoniani moved to Naples but the numerous variants of views of the city and the presence of many of his works in English collections (presumably acquired by aristocrats visiting Naples during the Grand Tour) attest to his activity in this genre. Sir William Hamilton is known to have commissioned two views from the artist: Naples from Mergellina in 1771 (English private collection) and The Eruption of Vesuvius of 1767 in 1776 (William Mostyn-Owen London). Furthermore Sir Henry Blundell acquired a set of four views of Naples by Antoniani between 1775 and 1776, possibly identifiable with those formerly at Lulworth Manor (see below).

The view of the Riviera di Chiaia looking across the bay of Naples towards Mount Vesuvius is taken from the Convento di Sant' Antonio at Mergellina. To the left, high on the hilltop, can be seen the star-shaped ramparts of the Castel Sant' Elmo (1527-46) with the Certosa di San Martino just below it. The promontory of Pizzofalcone sweeps across the bay and near the end of it stands the Chiesa della Concezione, known locally as "le Crocelle" (1617-27). Extending from the tip of the headland is the short causeway leading to the rocky islet of Megaris, once the site of a villa belonging to Lucullus but from the 9th century dominated by the Castel dell' Ovo. The second view is taken from the other side, from Levante, and the Castel dell' Ovo is visible on the extreme left of the composition with the pink-coloured Palazzo Reale nearby. The old port lies protected near the Castel Nuovo, a fortress originally built by the Angevin kings but rebuilt by Alfonso d'Aragona in the mid-15th century. To the right of this area the roofs of the Spaccanapoli district rise behind the façades of the Lungomare, and fishermen are shown working in the foreground.

As well as painting individual works and pairs of paintings, Antoniani, in common with other painters of vedute, conceived larger sets of pictures which were intended to be displayed together; see, for example, the set of four views of Naples by Antoniani, signed and dated 1776 on the reverse, formerly in the collection of Col. Sir Joseph Weld at Lulworth Manor until sold in London, Christie's, 12 December 1980, lot 99.  The presence of non-consecutive inventory numbers (713 and 715) on both of the present pictures would in itself suggest that they once formed part of a larger set, but this hypothesis is lent weight by the presence of an inventory number (712) painted in the same white lettering on a painting of identical dimensions (66.3 by 132.7 cm.)  sold New York, Christie's, 11 January 1995, lot 24 (as Gabriele Ricciardelli), and now at Compton Verney.  All three paintings depict views to be found in the ex Lulworth set and it is likely that a fourth view, which one might presume to bear the inventory number 714 and to depict the Strada di Santa Lucia, would have completed this set.   A similar date in the 1770s seems plausible for the present pair of pictures.