Francesco Giuseppe Casanova
London, 1727 – Brühl (Austria), 1803
Pair of Pastoral Scenes
– Shepherds and shepherdesses at rest, a child playing with a lamb
Black stone, black ink wash and white chalk highlights
Signed lower left: Casanova. F
218 x 178 mm – 8 9/16 x 7 1/64 in.
On the reverse of the frame, at the top, a label with an inscription printed in black ink: F. PETIT / 95, Rue Ampère, PARIS
Framed in a Louis XVI style frame.
– Shepherds and shepherdesses at rest, a shepherd playing the flute
Brush, brown and black ink wash with white chalk lines.
Signed lower left: Casanova. F
218 x 178 mm – 8 9/16 x 7 1/64 in.
On the reverse of the frame, at the top, a glued label with an inscription printed in black ink: F. PETIT / 95, Rue Ampère, PARIS.
Framed in a Louis XVI style frame.
Born into a family of itinerant Italian actors based in London, Francesco travelled to Venice with his parents at an early age where his interest in drawing and painting was encouraged. He apprenticed in the studio of Gianantonio Guardi and then in that of the battle painter Francesco Simonini. In 1751, he left Italy for Paris and then went to Dresden where he devoted himself to studying the paintings in the Elector’s gallery, making numerous copies and taking an interest in the work of the Dutch painter Philippe Wouwermans, a prolific painter of battles and hunting parties of the 17th century. Back in Paris in 1758, he perfected his training with Charles Parrocel. In 1761, he was very successful in exhibiting a Battle Scene at the Luxembourg Palace and in 1763 he was accepted by the Academy with a Cavalry Fight. He exhibited at the Salons of 1765 and 1765, confirming his reputation, which was hailed by the critic Denis Diderot: “This Casanova is already a man of imagination, a great colourist; a warm and bold head; a good poet; a great painter[1]. Two of his brothers, Giovanni Battista and Giacomo were famous, the first as a painter and historian and the second as a notorious adventurer whose exploits were recounted in the salons.
In addition to cavalry battles and hunting scenes, Casanova also painted landscapes with animals and pastoral subjects[2]. Our two drawings are part of the evocation of the pastoral poetry of the 18th century, where man is in perfect harmony with nature, illustrating an idealized rural world.
The label on the reverse indicates that the Louis XVI style frames and the mounting were made at the end of the 19th century by Frédéric Petit, a gilding and framing specialist located at 95 rue Ampère in the 17th arrondissement of Paris.
Condition report – Good general condition
[1] Salon of 1761 in Essais sur la peinture. Salons de 1759, 1761, 1763, Paris, Hermann, 2007, p. 164.
[2] Like for example a drawing La Cascade kept at the Louvre Museum (inv. REC 72)
