Sebastiano Ricci

Probably commissioned by Count Johann Matthias von der Schulenburg (1661-1747) in 1731 and in his Venetian collection until his death in 1747, after which tme it was transferred with other pictures from the collection to Hehlen, Germany;
His estate sale, London, Christie's, 13 April 1775, lots 37 and 38 ("A bacchanalian festival, a rich and beautiful composition / Ditto its companion, equally fine.");
Private collection, Genoa;
Anacleto Frezzati, Venice, by 1976;
With Matthiesen Fine Art Ltd., London, until 1987;
From whom acquired by the present collector.

Hanover, Forum des Landesmuseums; Düsseldorf, Kunstmuseum, Venedigs Ruhm im Norden: die grossen venezianischen Maler des 18. Jahrhunderts, ihre Auftraggeber, und ihre Sammler, 3 December 1991 - 2 February 1992; 16 February 1992 - 26 April 1992, no. 70.

P. Zampetti, "Due Baccanali di Sebastiano Ricci," in Atti del Congresso Internazionale di Studi su Sebastiano Ricci e il suo tempo, Udine 1975, Milan 1976, pp. 126-127;
J. Daniels, Sebastiano Ricci, Bath 1976, p. 156, cat. nos. 542 (a)-(b), reproduced figs. 57-58;
J. Daniels, L'opera completa di Sebastiano Ricci, Milan 1976, p. 136, cat. nos. 510-511, reproduced;
T. Wessel, Sebastiano Ricci und die Rokoko Malerei, Freiburg 1984, pp. 172-181;
A. Binion, La galleria scomparsa del maresciallo von der Schulenburg, exhibition catalogue, Milan 1990, pp. 84, 137, 140, 294;
M. Trudzinski and B. Schälicke (eds.), Venedigs Ruhm in Norden, exhibition catalogue, Hanover 1992, pp. 228-229, cat. no. 70;
R. Pallucchini, La pittura nel Veneto, Il Settecento, Milan 1995, vol. I, pp. 59-60;
A. Scarpa, Sebastiano Ricci, Milan 2006, p. 326-327, cat. nos. 521-522, reproduced figs. 684, 686-687, p. 205, under cat. no. 176, p. 344, under cat. no. 559.

The following condition report has been provided by Simon Parkes of Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc. 502 East 74th St. New York, NY 212-734-3920, simonparkes@msn.com, an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. This pair of paintings could very well be hung in their current condition. The canvases have effective Italian linings. The paint layers are both cleaned. The restoration is weak in places, but not immediately obviously so. The painting of A Bacchanal in Honor of Pan shows restorations in the shadowed side of Bacchus' stomach, in Venus's upper thighs and a few spots in her face. And some random spots elsewhere concentrations only in the sky in the upper left and in the red draped fabric in the upper right. In The Feast of Silenus, there are retouches to thinness in the sky, in the red fabric around the standing nude on the left, in the figures above the goat on the far left, in a few spots in the reclining nude and in her handmaiden behind. A tear in the canvas is repaired in the architecture in the center beneath the winged putti. There are also retouches around the edges. More accurate retouching would be beneficial to both paintings, but the works certainly look presentable as they are.
"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."

First published by Pietro Zampetti in 1976, this superb pair of canvases, depicting The Bacchanal in Honor of Pan and The Feast of Silenus, can almost certainly be identified as those commissioned by the celebrated patron of the arts, Johann Matthias von der Schulenburg (1661-1747, fig. 1).  In addition to the present canvases, Ricci painted two further versions of these pendants: one pair which sold at Christie’s London in 1975, and another which is now divided, with the Bacchanal in Honor of Pan formerly in an Italian private collection and the Feast of Silenus in the Worcester Art Museum, Worcester, Mass. (inv. No. 1970.65).¹  In his 1976 monograph Jeffrey Daniels published a fourth pair in which the nudes are modestly covered with drapery and garlands of flowers, painted by an anonymous follower and offered at Sotheby’s London in 1964.²  As Annalisa Scarpa writes, the present pair is of such noticeably superior quality that it is most likely to have been that forming part of Schulenburg's collection.  A German aristocrat and general of the Saxon and Venetian armies, Schulenburg settled in Venice upon his retirement where he began to amass a spectacular collection, acquiring paintings by the likes of Raphael, Giorgione and Correggio.  Schulenburg was also a great patron, commissioning works from Giambattista Pittoni, Francesco Simonini and Giovanni Battista Piazzetta to name but a few, and he kept Gian Antonio Guardi on a monthly salary. 

On the February 23, 1731, Ricci was paid an initial sum of 70 zecchini for the pair and received a further 115 zecchini exactly two years later on February 23, 1733, plus an additional 3 zecchini paid to Ricci's servants for transporting the paintings.³  The paintings appeared in an inventory of Schulenburg’s collection of May 30, 1738 under Sebastiano Ricci’s name, described as, “Due quadri compagni con cornice dorate Rappresentano Baccanali Numerosi di figure, di uomini, Donne, Satiri e Bassi rilievi / alti 5 / larghi 6 / 540 / 1000” (“Two companion paintings with gilt frames, representing numerous bacchanals of figures, of men, women, satyrs and reliefs / 5 high / 6 wide / 540 / 1000”).⁴  The latter two figures provided in the entry were the paintings’ purchase price and current estimate in ducats, which show the pair to have almost doubled in value in the five years since their execution.  The paintings were included in the inventory taken in August 1747 following Schulenburg’s death and again in the extensive inventory compiled between 1750 and 1774 of all works formerly in the General’s collection.   The Pan and Silenus pair was among the pictures sent to Germany after Schulenburg’s death and held in Hehlen before being sold at auction in London in 1775 (see Provenance). 

Three preparatory drawings for the Bacchanal in Honor of Pan and the Feast of Silenus have been preserved.  Ricci’s initial idea for the Bacchanal can be found in a sketch now in the Galleria dell’Accademia, Venice (fig. 2).  While the artist varied the positions of some of the lateral figures, his final composition remained largely faithful to the preliminary drawing.  In addition there are two sketches for the figure of Silenus depicted in the pendant, both in the Royal Collection, Windsor Castle (inv. nos. RCIN 907025 and RCIN 907025).  Giacomo Leonardis produced engravings of Ricci’s Bacchanal and Feast scenes in 1769, in which the figures are draped in a manner similar to those in the aforementioned pair offered at Sotheby’s London in 1964.⁵

 

1.  A. Scarpa, under Literature, p. 205, cat. No. 176 and p. 344, cat. no. 559, reproduced figs. 689 and 688 respectively.
2.  J. Daniels, under Literature, under cat. no. 508; Anonymous sale, London, Sotheby’s, 11 March 1964.
3.  A. Binion, under Literature, p. 84.
4.  Ibid.
5.  A. Scarpa, op. cit., p. 205, under cat. no. 176.