Architectural Capriccio with Ruins by Andrea Locatelli (Rome, 1695 – 1741)

Andrea Locatelli (Rome, 1695 – 1741) Architectural Capriccio with Ruins Oil on canvas, 47 x 62 cm Critical Entry by Prof. Alessandro Agresti Andrea Locatelli (Rome, 1695 – 1741), one of the most renowned Roman landscape painters of the 18th century, also dedicated himself assiduously to the “Architectural Capriccio” genre. The present construction, featuring ancient ruins, proves this: a pyramid certainly inspired by the Cestia pyramid, a male statue, and a colossal equestrian statue paying homage to Gian Lorenzo Bernini's masterpiece, The Vision of Constantine. All around, amidst the debris of a distant world, small figures are created with quick touches: a soldier in armor lying down and a mother with her children, while two others, in the distance, seem intent on gazing at the horizon. Andrea Locatelli (Rome, 1695 – 1741) was born in Rome in 1695; there is scant information about his training, which took place with his father Giovanni Francesco and his uncle Pietro Lucatelli, born in Rome in 1634. A period of apprenticeship with the marine painter Monsù Alto is also known, of whom we only know two works traced by Marco Chiarini in the deposits of Florentine museums. Subsequently, he was with the landscape painter Fergioni until 1712, probably in the company of Paolo Anesi (Rome, 1697 - 1773). After this date, Locatelli was active in full autonomy and accredited to the most well-known Roman families. In fact, in 1715 he was called to participate in the decorations of the palace in Corso belonging to Francesco Maria Ruspoli. Locatelli contributed to the lost complex of landscapes, seascapes, and genre scenes, created by an international team of specialists such as Alessandro Marchi or Froncois Simonot known as il Borgognone, by creating the figures in a room. In the same years, he worked for the Ottoboni family; paintings in the Palazzo della Cancelleria were commissioned by Cardinal Pietro. For the same cardinal, he painted "various paintings" remembered, in 1739, by Charles de Brosses who, among the "bonnes peintures" of the Ottoboni collection, only cites the paintings of Francesco Trevisani and "des paysages de Lucatelli". Within the Ottoboni circle, Locatelli probably met the architect Juvarra, active in the Palazzo della Cancelleria since 1710. In 1724, he secured him the commission, from Vittorio Amedeo II of Savoy, to execute two views of the Rivoli castle; they were commissioned together with three others by Giovan Paolo Panini and Marco Ricci. In 1738, commissioned by Cardinal Neri Corsini, nephew of Pope Clement XII, Locatelli participated in the renovation of the Riario palace, recently purchased by the Corsini family. But, Locatelli's most passionate collectors were the Colonna: he painted as many as 57 views for Girolamo II, and another thirty paintings were exhibited in the Sciarra Colonna palace gallery. The painter fits into the difficult artistic environment of Rome in the best possible way, producing fantasy landscapes of an archaeological nature following the example of Giovanni Ghisolfi and van Bloemen, realistic and Arcadian views, even depicting popular scenes that influenced Paolo Monaldi, and his compositions were certainly important for the artistic path of Gian Paolo Pannini, who moved to Rome from his native Piacenza around 1715, soon becoming the most famous vedutista of the time. In these years, a probable exchange of influences has also been observed between Locatelli and Marco Ricci who, in Rome around 1720, took inspiration for an engraving from the Roman painter's painting. The present painting, as reported by Prof. Alessandro Agresti, is plausibly, due to the loose and vibrant execution, an initial idea of a larger work. The execution of the figures is comparable to paintings such as Landscape with Travelers and Landscape with Shepherds from a private collection. In the "Capriccio with Figures near an Altar" in Palazzo Corsini, the same stratagem is used of making the sculptures almost pulsating with life, in particular the execution of the bas-relief is very comparable to the base with soldiers in our painting.