Francesco Fidanza (Rome, 1747 - Milan, 1819)
Stormy Seascape
oil on canvas, 47 x 68 cm
The painting under examination can be attributed to the hand of the painter Francesco Fidanza (1749-1819) based on stylistic and compositional references.
Born in Rome, according to some, or Città di Castello, according to others, Francesco Fidanza is the eldest son of Filippo and brother of Giuseppe, both painters. Fidanza is best known for his landscapes and seascapes, which were very successful both in Italy and in Paris. Towards the end of the century, he moved to the French capital where he was strongly influenced by Vernet and Lacroix. This premise influenced the impeccable formal elaboration of his production, characterized by the overcoming of the classical landscape, anticipating solutions of Enlightenment and Romantic taste. Here he exhibited some landscapes at the Salon of 1801 (Snowy Weather, Moonlight) and at that of 1804 (A Snowfall, kept in the Gallery of Modern Art in Milan). Back in Italy, he spent the last decade of his life in Milan, obtaining the protection of Viceroy Eugène de Beauharnais, to whom he sent four small painted landscapes and working for the Marquis Melzi d'Eril. The protection of Beauharnais offered Fidanza the commission for the views of the "principaux ports du Royaume": the viceroy's intention was to have a visual documentation similar to that created by C.J Vernet, with the series of 15 ports, made for the king of France Louis XV. The undertaking was not completed by Fidanza, who painted only six views now kept in various Lombard museums.
The painting under examination depicts a splendid seascape with a storm and shipwreck scene, where the rough sea has dragged the ship against the rocks and the beach is animated by the small figures of sailors who escaped the violence of nature. Beyond the water, on the opposite shore, one can see a city and a port rendered with great refined brushstrokes that fade into the distance together with the background, leading the viewer's eye towards the cloudless horizon.
Fidanza's skill lies in knowing how to capture sudden meteorological effects, where storm clouds and powerful tidal waves dissolve into a serene and luminous environment; where small figures, made with quick touches, are at the mercy of a grandiose and impetuous nature. His atmospheres are restless, rich in contrasts of color and light, almost material.
The work can be compared with a marine landscape passed on the Milanese antique market a few years ago, where a similar composition is recognizable: the stormy sea in the foreground with castaways adrift, a lighthouse and a port in the background, the clouds that from stormy open into a serene glimpse.
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