Michele Marieschi

Both appear to be unlined. Each painted on a very coarse canvas which gives the painted surface an uneven texture. On both, the paint appears to have been applied thinly by the artist. Architectural Fantasy with Gothic Arches: There are some thinnesses in the brown pigments. As a whole, the painting reads well. Ultraviolet light reveals scattered small retouches evenly spread throughout. There appears to be an old repaired puncture, third column from left. Retouching along all four edges. Architectural Fantasy with a Staircase in an Open Courtyard: There are some noticeable thinnesses in the browns of the archway and the building at far right. There are some noticeable abrasions and thinnesses in archway at left side. Ultraviolet light reveals scattered retouches in browns and along the upper edge. Both paintings still read well and present charming images. Both paintings are presentable in their present state. Each in a simple gilt wood frame..
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The present pair belongs to Marieschi's early career, before 1736, a time when he was most interested in stage design.  In both of the present paintings, the artist has made the architecture the dominant player, using imaginative and steep perspectives, created by the play of light on the arches, stairways and buildings to draw the viewer into the composition.  Also typical of Marieschi's style are the passages of heavy impasto.  Marieschi's compositions drew from an Italian tradition of architectural painting and stage design that foreshadowed the work of Piranesi and had their roots in the conceptions of Marco Ricci and Filippo Juvarra.  The present pair specifically has their antecedent in series of stage designs by Marco Ricci, now at Windsor Castle (see A. Blunt and E. Croft-Murray, Venetian Drawings at Windsor Castle, 1957, p. 44, cat. nos. 188 – 193, fig. 74.), while Ricci's designs were themselves derived from Filippo Juvara's plans, for Cardinal Ottoboni's Roman theater, dated 1706 – 1707 (see A. Delneri, Marieschi: tra Canaletto e Guardi, Gorizia 1989, p. 35).

These two canvases are very similar to two other architectural fantasies from this same period, two pictures depicting courtyards with stairways. The first of these, now in the Narodni Galerie, Prague (inv. no. 0-10060) is almost identical to An Architectural Fantasy with Gothic Arches; virtually the only difference between the two is that Marieschi inhabits the latter with figures.  The second picture, now in the Niedersächsisches Landesmuseum, Hannover (inv. no. AM. 759), most closely relates to Architectural Fantasy with a Staircase in an Open Courtyard.  All four pictures are of almost exactly the same dimensions.

  

This pair will be sold with a certifcate of authenticity from Dr. Ralph Toledano confirming their autograph status.