FRANCESCO FIDANZA | A MOONLIT MEDITERRANEAN HARBOR WITH A COASTAL TOWER AND FIGURES WATCHING A FIRE

Anonymous sale, Vienna, Dorotheum, 17 October 2007, lot 301;

There acquired.

Francesco Fidanza, a Roman artist who trained under Claude-Joseph Vernet and Charles François Lacroix de Marseilles, chose onyx as his support for this small Mediterranean landscape. A member of the quartz family, this opaque stone allows for light to shine through and is found in a variety of colors. The warm yellowish tone of the present stone brings a luminous undertone to the dramatically lit scene, and its sleek surface grants a smooth and detailed brushstroke. We are grateful to Nicola Spinosa for endorsing this attribution on the basis of photographs.