Antonio Joli

With Richard Green, London;
Private collection, Portugal;
With Simon Dickinson, London;
From whom acquired by the present owner.

R. Toledano, Antonio Joli, Modena 1700–1777 Napoli, Turin 2006, p. 311, N.V.2 and p. 381, N.XXXIII.1, respectively, both reproduced.

The following condition report is provided by Sarah Walden who is an external specialist and not an employee of Sotheby's: Antonio Joli. Naples from the West. This painting has been relined comparatively recently and has a strong older stretcher. There is occasional minor retouching in the sky muting the craquelure, with a few small touches here and there scattered mainly in the blue of the sky on the left, where the pink clouds may be faintly thin. There are some small touches on the distant hillside, but elsewhere throughout the entire lower landscape and view of Naples is immaculately preserved and intact in every detail. Antonio Joli. The Gulf of Pozzuoli. This painting also has a comparatively recent lining and slightly older stretcher. The beautiful overall condition shows no trace of wear and every finest detail is calmly intact. There is a fine craquelure, with an occasional circular pattern suggesting a minor past nudge from behind, but with no fragility, past or present. There are two old knocks at the extreme top edge, one on each side of a central stretcher bar perhaps where knocking in a wedge was slightly misjudged. However such past incidents at the far outer edge have not affected the beautiful condition of the painting elsewhere throughout. This report was not done under laboratory conditions.
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

Antonio Joli settled in Naples in about 1755 serving as court painter to Charles VII, King of Naples (later Charles III of Spain), as well as receiving commissions from an array of wealthy aristocrats who came through the city as part of the Grand Tour. He trained as a scene painter in Modena and Perugia and studied the vedute of Canaletto and Bellotto while working in Venice. However, it was in Naples that he enjoyed his greatest success, and his early training served him well. His paintings of Naples and the surroundings combine a remarkable topographical accuracy with a flair for the dramatic viewpoint.  

In the view of Naples from the West we see the coastline of Chiaia, still a picturesque suburb, with Castel Sant' Elmo glowing in the sun on the hill above, the Castel dell'Ovo stretching out into the water at the right and Vesuvius beyond. It is a brilliant, sunny day, with the light gleaming off the water, though perhaps there is a hint of disquiet in the bank of clouds rising above Vesuvius.   

The pendant, the Gulf of Pozzuoli, which is west of Naples, is a more unusual view. It derives from a painting by Tommaso Ruiz, dated 1749, but here Joli takes some liberties with the actual setting to make a more coherent composition (see under Literature). He shows almost the entire gulf with the island of Procida to the left; Capo Miseno in the center; and Ischia and Capri in the distance.