88 - Antonio Francesco Peruzzini (Ancona, 1643 or 1646 – Milan, 1724) and Alessandro Magnasco (Genoa, 1667 – 1749)

Antonio Francesco Peruzzini (Ancona, 1643 or 1646 – Milan, 1724) and Alessandro Magnasco (Genoa, 1667 – 1749) Figures by the Sea Oil on canvas 98 x 73.5 cm The work features the typical composition of Magnasco and Peruzzini’s seascapes: there are the customary trees on either side to frame and center the scene, figures in the foreground, and a long vista of the rippling waters framed by crystalline mountains. The high quality of both the figures and the seascape suggests that the work can be attributed to the two painters mentioned. In 1672, following his father’s death, Alessandro Magnasco moved to Milan and joined the workshop of the painter Filippo Abbiati. From his Milanese master, he absorbed the strong sense of oppressive drama present in his works, as well as the pronounced chiaroscuro effect. In his early twenties, he began working independently, creating his first landscapes—a subject that was on the verge of gaining recognition among Italian art collectors. His landscapes—sometimes vast plains, other times forests—always convey a profound sense of desolation and solitude. In some cases, his settings are enriched with ruined architecture. He often limited himself to including slender, angular figures in his paintings, while leaving the task of rendering the landscapes and architectural backdrops to Antonio Francesco Peruzzini, Crescenzio Onofri, Clemente Spera, and Carlo Antonio Tavella. After serving the Medici family in Florence, he settled in Milan, where he worked for important patrons such as the Visconti and the Durini families. In particular, this painting draws on examples of works created by Magnasco in collaboration with Peruzzini, such as those in the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Nancy, the Royal Palace in Genoa, and the Alte Pinakothek in Munich. Peruzzini received his first lessons in painting within his family circle; he then went to Rome, from where he sent several paintings to Turin for Carlo Emanuele II of Savoy. Subsequently, Peruzzini moved to Bologna, where he created numerous landscapes for Count Annibale Ranuzzi. Between 1690 and 1695, Peruzzini stayed in Milan, where he painted for Marquis Cesare Pagani and Vitaliano Borromeo. At the beginning of the 18th century, he moved to Tuscany at the invitation of Ferdinando de’ Medici, where he resumed his collaboration with Alessandro Magnasco, which had begun in Milan. Both returned to the Lombard capital and remained there. His was a typically Baroque and turbulent interpretation of Salvator Rosa’s landscape style, and his works, like those of Magnasco, were fundamental to the development of Marco Ricci’s landscape painting. Antonio Francesco Peruzzini (Ancona 1643 or 1646 – Milan 1724) and Alessandro Magnasco (Genoa 1667 – 1749) Figures by the Sea Oil on canvas 98 x 73.5 cm The work displays the typical composition found in the seascapes of Magnasco and Peruzzini: the customary trees on either side to frame and center the scene, the figures in the foreground, and the long vista across the rippling waters, framed by crystal-clear mountains. The high quality of both the figures and the seascape suggests that the work may be attributed to the two painters mentioned.