Lot 631
  • 631

Pietro Longhi

Estimate
60,000 - 80,000 GBP
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Description

  • Pietro Longhi
  • The Fortune Teller
  • oil on canvas

Condition

In overall good condition. The canvas has a firm relining, the paint surface is relatively clean and the varnish is even and slightly discoloured. Inspection under ultraviolet light reveals a number of small scattered retouchings from two different campaigns of restoration, none of which are obviously visible to the naked eye. Offered in a carved and moulded gilt wood frame, with some minor losses.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Catalogue Note

This painting was only previously known from a photograph in the Fondazione Zeri and appears to be unpublished. The Fortune Teller is a fine example of the elegant genre scenes for which Longhi is best known and relates to other works depicting charlatans painted in the 1750s. Set in Venice under the arcades of the Doge’s Palace, a masked couple is approached by a street seller, while behind them people gather round a stage to watch a fortune teller. On the back wall in a scrolled cartouche surmounted by the doge’s hat, or corno, flanked by overlapping ‘Vs’ that signify ‘Evviva’ (‘Hurrah!’), is a proclamation relating to the election of a Doge. Similarly, the right-hand column bears campaign propaganda for the election of a parish priest, as indicated by the cleric's black cap that surmounts it. Were these notices legible – as on a number of other paintings by Longhi – they might serve as evidence for the work’s dating. As it is, a dating based on stylistic comparisons must remain conjectural.

The Fortune Teller shares some similarities with other paintings by Longhi that explore the same subject and related themes such as quack doctors and tooth-pullers, all located in comparable settings under the arcades of the Doge’s Palace. For example The Fortune Teller at the Gallerie dell’Accademia, Venice, features elements that are also found here: the figure listening to the man with the speaking tube; the cloaked gentleman seen from the back – here somewhat modified and raffishly posed; and the boy, in profile, laden with a basket of fruit; all recur in this picture with some modifications.1 The central motif of the masked couple is given prominence also in other pictures, with slight variations to costume and setting. The lady and her gallant gentleman appear, for instance, in The Quack Doctor at Ca’ Rezzonico, Venice, a work dated 1757, although in the latter the lady is unmasked.2 By contrast the lady depicted in The Perfume Seller, also at Ca' Rezzonico and generally dated to the 1750s, does wear a mask.3 One of the more unusual aspects of this painting is that the lady, with eyes sparkling, looks out directly at the viewer, and it is perhaps in this small detail that Longhi’s wit is most apparent.

1 Inv. no. 468. T. Pignatti, L’opera completa di Pietro Longhi, Milan 1974, p. 90, no. 53, reproduced in colour as plate XXXIII.

2 Inv. no. 129. Pignatti 1974, p. 95, no. 121, reproduced in colour as plate XLIV.

3 Inv. no. 127. Pignatti 1974, p. 95, no. 119, reproduced in colour as plate XLVI.