Property from a Distinguished Private Collection
Felice Giani
A ceiling design with scenes from the life of Paris and the marriage of Peleus
No reserve
Live auction begins on:
July 2, 10:00 AM GMT
Estimate
2,500 - 3,500 GBP
Bid
400 GBP
Lot Details
Description
Property from a Distinguished Private Collection
Felice Giani
San Sebastiano di Monferrato 1758 - 1823 Rome
A ceiling design with scenes from the life of Paris and the marriage of Peleus
bears black chalk inscriptions under each scene: Giudizio di Paride; Ratto d'elena; Paride fra pastori; Nozze di Peleo; Paride bambino portano a pastori sul monte ida
pen and brown ink and wash over black chalk
300 by 410 mm
Sale, London, Sotheby's 23 March 1971, lot 221 (as Circle of Felice Giani);
with Flavia Ormond Fine Arts;
sale, London, Sotheby's, 5 July 2006, lot 153;
sale, London, Sotheby's, 4 July 2024, lot 233
Felice Giani trained in Bologna with Domenico Pedrini and Ubaldo Gandolfi, before studying under Pompeo Batoni at the Accademia di San Luca, Rome. He worked chiefly as a decorative painter, and gained important commissions in Rome at the Palazzo Altieri, Palazzo di Spagna, and the Palazzo del Quirinale. Amongst other projects, he painted villas and palaces in Venice, Ferrara, Bologna, Faenza, Forlì, and elsewhere in Emilia and Romagna.
This design for a ceiling decoration takes as its subject five episodes from the life of Paris, from The Iliad, a theme which Giani used in his decorations for Palazzo Altieri, but with an alternate composition. At the centre, in a circular medallion, is the wedding of Peleus and Thetis.
For further information on the artist and his elaborate decorative schemes based on the large group of drawings which originated from Piancastelli's collection, see P. Dearborn Massar, 'Felice Giani Drawings at the Cooper-Hewitt Museum', Master Drawings, vol. XIV, 1976, no. 4, pp. 396-420.
You May Also Like
