FRANCESCO GIUSEPPE CASANOVA

FRANCESCO GIUSEPPE CASANOVA THE CROSSING OF THE RIVER FRANCESCO GIUSEPPE CASANOVA London 1727 – 1803 near Mödling Oil on canvas 28 × 45 cm / 11 × 17.7 inches, framed 40 × 57 cm / 15.7 × 22.4 inches FRAME French, circa 1800 PROVENANCE Probably from the 1766 sale of the collection of the Marquis de Sorenzo, Brussels (Krafft auction, Lugt 1533) FRANCESCO GIUSEPPE CASANOVA — THE POETICS OF GALANT LANDSCAPE It is always a joy to make a small discovery. Quite by chance, during a modest French auction, my attention was captured by two pendant paintings. They were presented as 19th-century works, but it took only a glance to recognize the unmistakable hand of a great 18th-century artist: Francesco Giuseppe Casanova. Francesco Giuseppe Casanova (1727–1803), younger brother of the celebrated memoirist Giacomo Casanova, was born in London but spent his childhood in Venice. After a brief apprenticeship with Giovanni Antonio Guardi and Antonio Joli, he became a pupil of Francesco Simonini, a renowned battle painter. In 1751, on the advice of another brother, Giovanni, he moved to Paris, where he studied with Charles Parrocel. Upon the latter's death, he spent a year in Dresden studying the battle paintings of the Gallery of the Electors of Saxony. From 1758, Casanova settled in Paris and began working as an independent artist. His early exhibitions were met with little success, but thanks to favorable reviews from Denis Diderot, he quickly gained an aristocratic clientele. In 1763 he was admitted as a full member of the Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture. It was Diderot himself who recommended him to Catherine the Great, securing him prestigious commissions for the Hermitage. Thanks to Diderot's intercession, Francesco Casanova became one of the most sought-after artists of his time. His style represents a refined synthesis of late Rococo and nascent Classicism. He was highly appreciated by royalty and nobles — including King Stanislaw August Poniatowski of Poland — but above all by Catherine II, who was not only his most important patron but also an ardent collector of his works. The two landscapes presented here — The Crossing of the River and The Travelers' Rest — are expressive and typical examples of Casanova's early Parisian period, executed between 1762 and 1770. The influence of Charles Parrocel is evident, especially in the compositional structure and the treatment of the figures. However, Casanova imprints a softer and more lyrical tone on the scenes. These are theatrical but not pompous representations of everyday life, full of light, movement, air, and noble serenity. These works also constitute a rare testimony of original pendants, conceived to dialogue with each other in terms of theme and atmosphere. Particularly interesting is the possible provenance of these works. Paintings with very similar subjects and almost identical dimensions appeared in a sale held on May 5, 1766, in Brussels, conducted by Jan Lauwryn Krafft. The catalog lists, at numbers 297 and 298: “Deux Pendants, des Cavaliers à cheval.” Each described as: Haut. 1 pied 6 pouces, Larg. 1 pied (approximately 48.7 × 32.5 cm) Although the descriptions are concise, the pendant character of the works and the attribution to Francesco Casanova are indicated. The seller is the Marquis de Sorenzo, a Venetian nobleman — an origin that reinforces the hypothesis of a direct link with the artist. The sale catalog is registered with the number Lugt 1533, preserved in the Provenance Index Sales Files (AAP), accessible via Art Sales Catalogs Online, and also available in digital format at INHA. Even if there are no inscriptions or archival labels that definitively confirm the identity of these paintings, the structural and thematic similarity, the corresponding format, and the historical context make the attribution highly plausible. This is one of those rare cases in which it is possible to trace a compelling connection between surviving works and 18th-century documentary sources.