Francesco Graziani as Ciccio Napoletano Battle scene oil on panel Italian school circa 1680-1690
There is not much literature about this Italian painter active in the second half of the 17th century.
Francesco Graziani is known as Ciccio Napoletano, we know that in the last decade of the 17th century he became a very popular painter among Roman patrons, especially as a painter of battles.
He is in the tradition of battle painting inaugurated in Naples by Belisario Corenzio. He is particularly influenced by Micco Spadaro, Philippo Napoletano, and by the innovations of Courtois, and he accentuates the decorative tendencies of the Rococo taste born in the Neapolitan and Roman schools.
Our painting fits perfectly into the vast catalog of small paintings attributed to him, in the foreground a battle scene embellished with numerous fighting figures that could be Dutch troops against Northern Italian troops, whose bright colors stand out against the bluish tones of the mountain.
Francesco Graziani's paintings are always surprising at first sight with this difference between the main scene and the background of the painting, which could make one think of a four-handed work, or a workshop work as often in the 17th and 18th centuries.
We propose this beautiful battle scene very colorful in the foreground of the painting, certainly between Dutch troops and troops from Northern Italy. In the background evanescent and bluish wooded hills, to finish on the edge of a threatening sky.
Beautiful Italian School, oil on panel of the end of the 17th century circa 1680-1690, in its gilded wood frame. We think that our painting is to be compared with the work of Francesco Graziani called Ciccio Napoletano.
Has an old and incorrect attribution label.
Measurements unframed: W 15.74 In. - H 12.59 In.
Measurements with frame: W 21.65 In. - H 18.50 In.
In very fine original condition, our painting has been professionally cleaned and its frame restored.
Museums:
Galerie Patine Palais Pitti Florence.
Musée des Offices Florence.
Walters Art Museum Baltimore
Musée des Beaux-Arts Chambéry
Musée des Beaux-Arts Dunkerque
Musée des Beaux-Arts Besançon
Musée des Beaux-Arts Toulon
Biography:
Les maîtres italiens et étrangers des XVIIe et XVIIIe siècles, Rome 1999, p. 33 et suivantes, 94-97, 162, 360-371, 476, 662-663.
De Carrache à Guardi. La peinture italienne des XVIIe et XVIIIe siècles dans les musées du Nord de la France, Édition de l’Association des Conservateurs de la Région Nord-Pas-de-Calais, Lille, 1985, p. 84-85.
