Francesco Chiarottini

Francesco Chiarottini (1748 – 1796), Roman Architectural Capriccio with Figures Oil on glass, 52 x 67 cm without frame Object accompanied by a certificate of authenticity and expertise (attached at the bottom of the page) The valuable painting, a work attributable to the painter Francesco Chiarottini and made in oil on glass, depicts an architectural capriccio, that is, an architectural fantasy obtained by putting together buildings, archaeological ruins, and other architectural elements in imaginary combinations and with unreal but plausible elements. In the work proposed here, it is possible to distinguish several ancient monuments existing in Rome. On the right, in the background, one observes the Temple of San Pietro in Montorio, while on the opposite side a large triumphal arch, repeated in perspective in the distance, seems to be inspired by the Arch of Constantine. Behind the farthest arch, the Colosseum is clearly identifiable. In the center is represented an imposing obelisk, also akin to the many that stand out in the large Roman squares. All around, other numerous buildings in classical style, ruins of Roman temples, a large porphyry basin, a temple with an imperial sarcophagus supported by telamons, stairways and Renaissance buildings are freely inspired by architectures present in the eternal city. Among the buildings and ruins, several figures animate the composition: some are depicted sitting, others standing, intent on strolling and conversing with each other. The painter uses an unusual and very complex technique, namely painting on glass, which requires uncommon artistic skills. The execution must in fact provide for the highlights and details in the foreground as the first layer, and then proceed with the realization of the background parts and subsequently the backgrounds. The artist must therefore paint in a process inverse to the one most commonly used for an oil on canvas. The first works in glass painting date back to the end of the seventeenth century; they spread throughout the eighteenth century, especially in the refined commissions of the Venetian and Neapolitan area. The subjects depicted were often taken, as reference models, from prints and engravings that could circulate easily. The work subject to this study is clearly inspired by an engraving taken from a work, presumably a drawing, by Giuseppe Galli Bibiena. The print of the engraving is specular to the image of our painting. Therefore, when the engraver was created, he had to possess a drawing or painting that could match our work. The same image that our author looked at, similar to one of the many drawings that have come down to us, of which a significant example is shown. Another oil painting on glass exists, also attributed to Francesco Chiarottini and depicting an architectural capriccio with the Monument of the Four Moors in Livorno, the Pantheon and other classical and modern buildings. The dimensions of the two works are also the same. It is therefore likely that they were born as a pair or perhaps accompanied by other works. The second work is also certainly inspired by an engraving by Giuseppe Galli Bibiena, entitled Temples and Regia. The Galli da Bibbiena or Bibiena were a family of artists, originally from Bibbiena, today in the province of Arezzo, active in the artistic field for over 150 years, first locally and then on a European scale. Its members were involved in painting, architecture and scenography and were in great demand at the courts of half of Europe. Giuseppe Galli da Bibiena (Parma, January 5, 1696 – 1757), second son of Ferdinando Galli da Bibiena, comes to equal his father's fame and becomes the best known of the Bibiena of his generation. Giuseppe leaves a copious collection of drawings and engravings of his works. One of the most important collections of his study drawings is published by him in Rome, under the direction of Andrea Pfeffel in 1740-44, with the title Architectures and perspectives dedicated to the majesty of Carlo sesto emperador de' Romani by Giuseppe Galli Bibiena, his first theatrical engineer and architect, inventor of the same. The prints of the Bibiena engravings had different fortunes. Among the many artists who welcomed their lesson, drawing inspiration for the layout and subjects of their works, is Francesco Chiarottini (1748 – 1796). The constant recourse to print production for iconographic proposals and as a layout subsidy was essential for Chiarottini in his specialization in perspective painting and in the world of scenography. Francesco Chiarottini was born in Cividale del Friuli on January 29, 1748 to Giobatta and Domenica Dini. In 1760 he moved to Venice to perfect his pictorial vocation. He remains in the lagoon city until 1773 and becomes a pupil of Guarana, Maggiotto, Fossati and Giandomenico Tiepolo. After a short stay in Udine where he learns the technique of fresco with Giuseppe Morelli, for which he will specialize, he goes to Bologna, coming into contact with the scenographic styles of Bibiena, then to Florence, Naples and Rome (1780-82), where he meets the exponents of neoclassicism, including Antonio Canova. In 1782 he returned to his homeland with a more mature language that combines the Tiepolo lesson with scenographic stimuli and "ruvinistic" withdrawals on the example of the Bibiena, Panini and Piranesi. He works in Gorizia, Trieste and Cividale: here he paints the staircase and halls of the Pontotti palace, now Brosadola. These works reveal a new inventive freedom, enhanced by the mastery of spaces and the perfect tuning of the figures with the environment. In 1786 the Academy of Fine Arts of Florence appoints him professor honoris causa and the following year he is welcomed into the Clementina Academy of Bologna. Later, Chiarottini paints theatrical scenes, first in Bologna and then in Rome. Around 1791 he fell ill and began to show the first signs of madness, which forced him to retire to his Cividale where he died on April 14, 1796. The noble attempt to reconcile the instances of decorative painting, of eighteenth-century extraction, with the neoclassical creed, nourished by Hellenistic solicitations and archaeological nostalgias, is a common characteristic of his works. In some, a ruvinistic accent prevails closer to the lesson of Panini or Piranesi, while in other works the scenographic aspect and the neoclassical projection, close to the Galli of Bibiena, are more pronounced. The work subject of this study and its pendant, can be attributed to Franceso Chiarottini; as seen, the author resorts to the Bibiena to propose an architectural scenario whose parts were repeatedly investigated and proposed by him. Carlotta Venegoni