Footnotes

• PROVENANCE:
  Youngstown Club, Youngstown, Ohio, 1990
  Sale, Christie's, New York, 10 January 1990, lot 57
  
  EXHIBITED:
  Ancona, Mole Vanvitelliana, Antonio Francesco Peruzzini, 1997, no. 65
  Cortina d'Ampezzo, Ciasa de ra Regoles, Francesco Foschi, 2003
  Sestriere, Neve sulla Neve. Paesaggi innevati de XVIII sec., 2005
  Shanghai, Shanghai Art Museum, From Light to Enlightment, 2005
  
  LITERATURE:
  M. Vinci, in M. Gregori and P. Zampetti, eds., Antonio Francesco Peruzzini, exh. cat. (Ancona, Mole Vanvitelliana, 1997), pp. 180-182, col. ill. p. 181
  M. Vinci, Francesco Foschi, Ancona, 1710-Rome, 1780, exh. cat. (Monte Carlo, 2002), pp. 20, 21, col. ill.
  M. Vinci, Francesco Foschi (Milan, 2002), cat. 70, p. 178, colour ill. p. 85
  
  The present composition is very characteristic of Francesco Foschi's attention to the careful observation of nature. Typically, the present capriccio is constructed in a series of irregular, projecting forms that rise high into the sky, and the tiny figures provide a sense of the scale of the overwhelming, natural setting, nethertheless conveying a sense of warmth and a tranquillity which appealed to eighteenth century taste.
  
  Here, as in the following lot, various recurrent compositional elements can be found: the road running past a river flanked by rocks; travellers clearing a way along wintery paths; grey sky criss-crossed by birds in flight. In this composition the hill acquires particular importance for its repoussoir function. The colour range is limited with an emphasis on whites, a studied range of greys, a few brown and ochre tones that emphasise small areas of ground not covered by the snow. These tones and Foschi's precise technique are deployed to achieve outstanding effects among the treetops, the patches of grass, the bare trunks and the heavy sky.
  
  Until relatively recently little has been written about Francesco Foschi. However, Luigi Serra's investigations in the first quarter of the twentieth century were followed by the studies of Bonfrancesco and Marietta Vinci, who set Foschi's life and work within a broader context. Despite this reconstruction of his output, various issues remain unresolved, particularly the dating of his paintings. Born in Ancona in 1710 Francesco Foschi was of noble origin and various members of his family were painters. After completing his training with Francesco Mancini in Fano, he moved to Rome in 1729, where he came in close contact with Gian Paolo Panini and Vanvitelli. The artist enjoyed the protection of influential figures at the outset of his career, including Count Raimondo Bonaccorsi and the English ambassador in Naples, Sir William Hamilton.
  
  Foschi can be considered the Italian virtuoso of winter landscapes. The genre of snowy landscapes had a period of glory in sixteenth and seventeenth century Flanders, but Foschi interpreted them in his own manner and participated in the rediscovery of an aspect of nature neglected by most of his contemporaries.

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Category: Fine Art / Old Master Paintings

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