6204 - Martini, Salvatore

Martini, Salvatore A Venetian Renaissance Wedding Procession on Its Way to the Gondolas. Oil on canvas. 99 x 136 cm. Signed and dated "S. Martini f. 1868". From 1843 onward, Salvatore Martini was enrolled at the Accademia di Belle Arti in Naples. Due to a hunting accident during his studies, he was forced to give up sculpture and devote himself entirely to history painting. In 1855, he exhibited a much-discussed and highly praised oil painting, “The Prisoner of Chillon” (based on Lord Byron’s dramatic poem “The Prisoner of Chillon”), at the Promotrice di Belle Arti there. King Ferdinand II of Bourbon even reported the artist to the police because of this. In 1862, the history painter exhibited “An Episode from the Florentine Plague of 1348”; in 1864, “Heloise and Abelard,” which was acquired by Prince Umberto of Savoy. At the Italian Art Exhibition in Parma in 1870, his work “The Arrival of Pia dè Tolomei in the Tuscan Maremma” was shown; in 1871, it was also presented in London alongside “The Peasant Woman from Sora.” In 1873, he returned to Naples with the painting “An Alchemist’s Experiment,” while his painting “Venetian Brides” was added to the collection of the Royal Palace of Capodimonte. His grandson Vittorio was the abbot of the Abbey of Montecassino and the bishop of the Diocese of Cassino. In 1929, a retrospective was dedicated to his grandfather, Salvatore Martini, at that location, featuring approximately fifty paintings. Unfortunately, many of his works, which were part of the family’s collection, were lost during the bombing of the city in 1944. – Enclosed: . - We ask that you request condition reports for the lots, as the condition is usually not mentioned in the catalog. - Please ask for condition reports for individual lots, as the condition is usually not mentioned in the catalog.