Beschreibung:

DescriptionProperty from a European Private Collection
Corrado GiaquintoMolfetta 1703 - 1766 NaplesAllegory of Africa
oil on canvasunframed: 48.7 x 64.8 cm.; 19⅛ x 25½ in.framed: 61.5 x 77.5 cm.; 24¼ x 30½ in.Condition reportThe canvas is lined, the paint surface is relatively clean and the varnish is clear and even. Inspection under ultraviolet light reveals retouchings around all four margins, most notably in the upper left corner. The foreground in the lower right quarter of the canvas is also retouched, as is the lower left corner, with retouching throughout the figure's leg and torso, and in the lion. Smaller areas of retouching are found around the figure of Africa herself. Despite the extent of the retouchings, the painting is not in need of any further attention and the painting presents well in its current state.
Please note that Condition 12 of the Conditions of Business for Buyers (Online Only) is not applicable to this lot.
The lot is sold in the condition it is in at the time of sale. The condition report is provided to assist you with assessing the condition of the lot and is for guidance only. Any reference to condition in the condition report for the lot does not amount to a full description of condition. The images of the lot form part of the condition report for the lot. Certain images of the lot provided online may not accurately reflect the actual condition of the lot. In particular, the online images may represent colors and shades which are different to the lot's actual color and shades. The condition report for the lot may make reference to particular imperfections of the lot but you should note that the lot may have other faults not expressly referred to in the condition report for the lot or shown in the online images of the lot. The condition report may not refer to all faults, restoration, alteration or adaptation. The condition report is a statement of opinion only. For that reason, the condition report is not an alternative to taking your own professional advice regarding the condition of the lot. NOTWITHSTANDING THIS ONLINE CONDITION REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE/BUSINESS APPLICABLE TO THE RESPECTIVE SALE.ProvenanceG. Grassi, Rome;
Don Antonio Villacieros y Benito, Conde de Villacieros, probably when serving in the Spanish Embassy in Rome around 1940–50, and certainly by 1958;
Thence by descent through two generations to the present owner.LiteratureM. D'Orsi, Corrado Giaquinto Rome 1958, pp. 72–73 and 143, no. 149, reproduced fig. 83;
P. Amato, Corrado Giaquinto Il Convegno Internazionale di Studi su Corrado Giaquinto (1703–1766), Molfetta 19–20 December 1981, Mezzina 1985, p. 83, under nos 14–15.
Catalogue noteUndoubtedly painted as one of a set of The Four Continents, this canvas depicting an Allegory of Africa can be dated on stylistic grounds to around 1745–50, prior to Giaquinto's trip to Spain in 1753. Another painting from the same set, representing an Allegory of Asia, was until recently in the same family collection.
D'Orsi (see Literature) suggests that Giaquinto may have painted two different series of The Four Continents. Two other paintings by Giaquinto, of almost identical dimensions to the present work, which represent Allegories of Europe and America,1 are today in the Musée du Nouveau Monde, La Rochelle; and another version of the present composition, though with a different background, is recorded in a private collection in Altamura, Puglia.2
1 https://agorha.inha.fr/ark:/54721/35863c3f-66a3-432f-aef5-e996bd2fb0d2 ; and https://agorha.inha.fr/inhaprod/ark:/54721/003263062 http://catalogo.fondazionezeri.unibo.it/scheda/opera/67209/Giaquinto%20Corrado%2C%20Allegoria%20dell%27Africa