Lot 22: Attributed to Stefano Ghirardini Bologna 1696-1756 , Peasants Merrymaking in a Clearing oil on canvas

oil on canvas

measurements 21 1/4 by 26 1/8 in. alternate measurements 54 by 66.3 cm.

The attribution to Stefano Ghirardini has been suggested by Renato Roli. The three figures at left three figures at the right side of Ghirardini's Il 'mondo nuovo', now in a private collection. (See R. Roli, Pittura Bolognese (1650 - 1800) Dal Cignani ai Gandolfi, Bologna 1988, plate 352e.) The female figure at left recalls Crespi's Study for a Seated Woman. (See, Giordano Viroli, in Giuseppe Maria Crespi 1665 - 1747, exhibition catalogue, Bologna September 7 - November 11, 1990, p. 78-79, cat. no. 41, reproduced.)