Allegory of the Four Seasons, engraved by Giovanni Volpato and designed by Francesco Maggiotto, second half of the 18th century

Allegory of the Four Seasons, engraved by Giovanni Volpato and designed by Francesco Maggiotto, second half of the 18th century. Etching prints mounted on canvas. Dimensions with frame: cm W 55 x H 40.5 x D 2.5. Canvases cm W 50.5 x H 41.5 Price: private negotiation Item accompanied by our certificate of authenticity. This Allegory of the Four Seasons, printed on paper and then applied to canvas, was created by the famous engraver Giovanni Volpato based on a design by Francesco Maggiotto. The engravings are presented inside neoclassical walnut wood frames with glass to protect the paper. The four scenes depict the Allegories of Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter. Each season includes the depiction of a particularly representative moment of the year. Some characters, in 18th-century attire, are engaged in representative activities. In summer, some are playing music and others are reading while sitting outdoors, some are strolling, and others are harvesting wheat. In spring, the shearing of sheep and work at oxen stables are depicted, as well as the moving of potted plants, probably to be placed outdoors. Autumn is centered on the grape harvest, with the gathering of grapes and the plowing of fields. The cold season of winter, the only one with a scene described in an indoor environment, illustrates a kitchen with a large fireplace while food is being cooked on the wood and bread dough is being prepared. Below each scene is the title and a proverb dedicated to the season. In the lower right is the indication of the engraver: JO. VOLPATO SCULP. VENETIIS. In the lower left is that of the creator: C.P.E.S. FRANC.US MAGGIOTTO INV. The four seasons were engraved by Giovan Battista Volpato during his Venetian stay (around 1770) and the successful artistic partnership with Francesco Maggiotto, responsible for conceiving the scenes. Giovanni Trevisan, known as Volpato (Angarano, 1735 – Rome, August 25, 1803) apprenticed at the Remondini printing house where he was able to study the matrices of numerous artists. He then moved to Venice to work with Bartolozzi and later with the workshop of Joseph Wagner. He accompanied the burin with the practice of etching and then combined techniques. His technical research was refined and fully realized in Rome, where the artist was invited by figures linked to the papal court with the task of translating the vaults and pillars of the Loggias of the Vatican Palace into engraving. Francesco Fedeli, known as Maggiotto (Venice, 1738 – Venice, September 13, 1805), was trained in the style of his father Domenico Fedeli, also known as Maggiotto. A master of painting at the Venetian Academy, of which he also became president in 1790, his students included those who would become leading figures of Venetian Neoclassicism, such as Lattanzio Querena, Giovanni Carlo Bevilacqua, Natale Schiavoni, and also Francesco Hayez. In 1796 he was appointed "Inspector of Public Paintings of Venice" with the aim of reporting on the state of publicly owned paintings, a function he maintained even during the beginning of the French occupation. The series, which is not easy to find on the antique market complete with all the seasons, is very decorative and pleasing to enjoy.