378 - 17th-century ITALIAN SCHOOL, entourage of Giacomo Torelli (1604 or 1608-

17th-century ITALIAN SCHOOL, entourage of Giacomo Torelli (1604 or 1608- 1678) or Galli da Bibiena The great sipario Oil on canvas. H_375 cm W_190.5 Restorations, faded. Related work : Ferdinando Galli Bibiana, Caprice architectural, oil on canvas, a pair, Hampel Fine Art Munich sale, June 22, 2007 (sold for €88,000). This monumental painting is probably one of the few remains of a Baroque theatrical setting. Impressively large, our painting reveals a landscape landscape setting behind a large trompe-l'oeil red sipario. This beautifully executed painting was probably part of a complete set reminiscent of the work of Giacomo Torelli and the Galli da Bibiena family. Galli da Bibiena family. Painter, engineer and set designer, Giacomo Torelli invented machines and unprecedented sets, earning him the nickname "the great sorcerer sorcerer" (stregone gran) to the French court. Born into a family of Italian nobility, nothing is known of his training. His activity is not unlike reminiscent of Leonardo da Vinci, who also divided his time between painting and engineering. Torelli even worked for a time as a military engineer engineer at the Venice Arsenal. In 1641, he created the Teatro Novissimo, where spectacular changes of scenery to create surprise and wonder. surprise and amazement. In 1644, Mazarin invited him to France to introduce introduce a taste for opera. He produced La Finta pizza for the young Louis XIV, Queen Anne of Austria and the Cardinal. The machines he installed at the Petit-Bourbon theater are reproduced in Diderot and D'Alembourg's Diderot and D'Alembert. He died in 1678 in his native Fano. The Galli da Bibiena family was a long line of painters, architects and theatrical decorators active in Bologna during the 17th and 18th centuries. Among the most famous are Giovanni Maria Galli da Bibiena (1618/25-1665), a pupil of the Albanese; his son Ferdinando (1657-1743), who continued his apprenticeship with Carlo Cignani; and grandson Alessandro (1686-1748), who became painter to the the Elector Palatine Charles Philippe. Although it is difficult to determine its authorship with certainty, our painting is a rare and exceptional piece that testifies to Italian taste for theatrical theatrical staging. The palette suggests that its creator was inspired by the the Bolognese school. The execution of the landscape and the figure in the foreground and the figure in the foreground are remarkably fine, as is the use of perspective cleverly introduced by the checkerboard floor.