6768 - Caligo, Domenico

Caligo, Domenico The Sala di Giove in the Palazzo Pitti in Florence, with an artist standing in front of his easel in the background. Watercolor over pencil on paper, which has been mounted (by the artist?) along the edges onto canvas and stretched onto a stretcher. 41.5 x 56 cm. Signed “D. Caligo” lower left; old seal remnants on the reverse of the stretcher. There is very little biographical information available about Domenico Caligo, who worked in Florence and whose work dates from the period between 1862 and 1880. His specialty was interior scenes, and he found his subjects primarily in the churches and palaces of Florence and Venice. Caligo was particularly inspired by the magnificent halls of the Palazzo Pitti. He produced several watercolor versions of the Sala di Giove, the Hall of Jupiter. The views differ only in a few details, though this particular version—featuring the artist copying an Old Master painting in the hall—is especially captivating. Caligo’s finely rendered watercolors are characterized by the perfection of their perspective and the rich textural quality of the diverse materials depicted. The glossy, reflective marble floor, the iridescent silk of the wall hangings, and the warm gold of the magnificent picture frames perfectly highlight the character of the princely hall. Provenance: J. P. Schneider Jr. Art Gallery, Frankfurt am Main. Private collection, Luxembourg. Ketterer, Munich, auction on May 14, 2013, Lot 654. Private collection in the Rhineland. - Please request condition reports for the lots, as the condition is usually not specified in the catalog. - Please ask for condition reports for individual lots, as the condition is usually not mentioned in the catalog.