Antonio Gaspari (attivo a Roma XVIII)

Attributed to ANTONIO GASPARI (active in Rome in the 18th century) Pastoral landscape with washerwoman and figures by a fountain Oil on canvas, cm. 97 x 134 Framing size, cm. 117 x 156 x 6 approx. NOTE: Publication catalog of works from the Intermidiart collection. Certificate of Guarantee and Legitimate Provenance. Work with antique goldwood frame (defects): PROVENANCE: Rome, Christie’s, 6 March 1984, lot 185 (as Jacob de Heusch); Rome, Christie’s, 22 March 1988, lot 209 (as Attributed to Antonio Gaspari). This refined canvas constitutes a happy testimony to that ideal and pastoral landscape painting flourishing between the end of the 17th century and the dawn of the 18th, a genre that found its intellectual and aesthetic core in the concept of Arcadia. More than documenting a specific topographic reality, the work recreates a lyrical and mythic vision of nature. The depicted place indeed evokes the idyllic atmospheres of the Roman Campagna, orchestrated according to a proven scenic arrangement: on the left, a majestic pair of ancient trees serves as an shadow repoussoir, balanced on the right by a monumental stone fountain, emblem of the persistence of the antique that blends harmoniously into the landscape. From here the viewer’s gaze is guided toward a wide, descending river basin, where the line of the horizon disappears among hill silhouettes and rural vestiges, under a sky crossed by fluffy clouds lit by the golden glow of sunset. This natural microcosm is populated by wayfarers and shepherds captured in moments of serene daily life — a washerwoman advancing toward the foreground, figures resting by the fountain, a shepherd leaning on his staff — perfectly embodying the literary topos of the locus amoenus, a peaceful refuge where man lives in perfect osmosis with the rhythms of a benevolent nature. Historically and critically, the painting boasts a significant collecting history that reflects the evolution of studies on Baroque landscape painting. When the canvas appeared on the Roman market in 1984 at Christie’s (lot 185), it was initially attributed to the Dutch painter Jacob de Heusch; an attributional oscillation understandable, justified by the strong Northern imprint and the “Italianizing” character of the atmospheric and luminous rendering. It was only four years later, in March 1988, again at Christie’s in Rome (lot 209), that the work found its correct critical redemption, being linked to Antonio Gaspari’s catalog. Celebrated primarily as a late Baroque architect working in Venice, where he inherited Baldassarre Longhena’s artistic legacy and signed masterpieces such as Ca’ Pesaro and Palazzo Corner della Regina, Gaspari pursued a parallel and successful painting production devoted to landscape, capriccio, and scenography, often in close collaboration with his son Giovanni Paolo (1712-1775). In this capacity, the artist managed to fuse the rigorous perspective and geometric culture of Venetian origin with the elegant Arcadian classicism of the Roman school, then dominated by Gaspard Dughet and Jan Frans van Bloemen. A decisive philological piece confirming the attribution to the master’s hand emerges in the group of foreground figures. The doodle of the seated woman in the lower right, conversing with the shepherd, is strictly identical in posture, anatomy, and chromatic treatment of the draperies to the famous painting conserved in Rome at the National Galleries of Ancient Art in Palazzo Barberini, jointly signed by Antonio Gaspari and his son Giovanni Paolo. This strict formal parallel proves the use of the same studio notebooks and graphic repertories, confirming the full authorship of the Venetian master and returning to the market a work of absolute charm and certainty of criticism. FACILY REPORT The painting presents itself overall in a decent state of structural conservation. The original canvas support has previously undergone a lining intervention, which still provides good stability and proper surface tension. From a strictly conservation viewpoint, the painting surface shows patina, with superficial dirt deposits accumulated over time and a partially oxidized protective varnish, showing minor inconsistencies in application. Close examination reveals some local flaking, due to previous cleaning, along with old restorations concentrated in small areas of the composition and along the perimetral margins. A targeted cleaning and aesthetic revision would remove altered layers, restoring full brightness to the color mass and improving the legibility of the master’s chiaroscuro transitions. The canvas is presented within a refined antique gold frame, which shows light and typical signs of time fully consistent with its history (frame size 117 x 156 x 6 approx., with defects). "The frame shown in the photos above has been added to the artwork by the seller or by a third party. The frame is provided at no additional cost so that it is ready for display as soon as it arrives. The frame is included as a courtesy and is not considered an integral part of the artwork. Therefore, any potential damage to the frame that does not affect the artwork itself will not be accepted as a valid reason to lodge a claim or to request order cancellation." Publication: - The Myths and the Territory in Sicily across a thousand cultures. UNPUBLISHED QUADRERIA general catalog of the paintings from the cycle “Myths and the Territory,” 2026 (Pdf). The work will be shipped — as it is of medium size — with a wooden crate and polystyrene. In the case of sale outside the Italian territory, the buyer must await the export procedures clearance.

Estimation:€6,000

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