ALBOTTO, FRANCESCO

CAPRICCIO WITH RUINS AND A CHURCH

Mid-XVIII century

canvas, oil

95,5 х 129 cm

Inv.: 3981

This work belongs to a series of compositions, three of which are in the State Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts.

Francesco Albotto - a pupil and close follower of Michele Marieschi – showed a preference for canvases of large format, in which panoramic views incorporate traditional depictions of ruins side by side with real buildings.

Apart from characteristic compositional techniques, the common feature of paintings by this artist is the unique way in which he depicts small branches of trees and foliage. His fragile-looking staffage figures are easily recognizable on account of their elongated proportions and a certain restraint in the rendering of their poses and movements.

Provenance: acquired in 1967 from G.A.Sosnovskaya (Moscow).