Lot 23: Michele Foschini (Italian, 1711-c.1770)

Michele Foschini (Italian, 1711-c.1770)
Charles of Bourbon relinquishing the Throne of Naples to his son Ferdinand; and Ferdinand IV of Bourbon sworn in as the King of Naples
oil on canvas
The first 29¾ x 39½ in. (75.6 x 100.3 cm.); The second 29 5/8 x 39 5/8 in. (75.2 x 100.7 cm.)
a pair (2)

N. Spinosa, Pittura napoletana del Settecento, Naples, 1987, p. 156, no. 269, p. 372, figs. 365-66.

PROPERTY FROM THE INDIANAPOLIS MUSEUM OF ART
(LOTS 19-23)

In these works Michele Foschini records the events of the 6 October 1759. The occasion is the transfer of the crown of Naples and Sicily from the new King Charles III of Spain to his son Ferdinand. Upon his succession to the Spanish throne, Charles was forced to give up his position as King of Naples, a title he had aspired to and won in the War of the Polish Succession of 1734 (when he renounced Parma to Austria in exchange for Naples). A treaty prevented the Crowns of Spain and the Italian Sovereignties from being united in the same person, and Charles complied by abdicating to his son. With his first son Philip mentally unfit to rule and his second son Charles destined to inherit the Spanish throne, the title fell to the third in line, Ferdinand, at only eight years of age.

On this day Ferdinand I (1751-1825) became both Ferdinand III of Sicily and Ferdinand IV of Naples. Ten days later the boy was bestowed with additional responsibility including the inheritance of Farnese properties (to which he was entitled through his mother Elizabeth Farnese). Ferdinand ruled Naples and Sicily until his death, with several interruptions, the most notable being Napoleon's act to install his brother Joseph in Naples 1806. In 1816 Ferdinand merged the thrones of Sicily and Naples, calling himself King Ferdinand I of the Kingdom of Two Sicilies (Rex Utriusque Sicilae), a historic title first used by Alfonso V, King of Aragon in 1435. Ferdinand ruled as such for the remainder of his life.

Michele Foschini was a pupil of Francesco Solimena and worked on religious commissions as well as scenes from the lives of the noble class, on both formal occasions and at leisure. Foschini's earlier paintings, such as The arrival of Charles of Bourbon in the Largo di Palazzo (private collection, Naples) show the influence of Solimena and is very like the work of his contemporaries Antonio Joli and Pietro Fabris. The present pair, on the other hand, are indebted to Nicola Maria Rossi's monumental paintings commissioned by Count Harrach and completed by Rossi in 1732 (see N. Spinosa, Pittura napoletana del Settecento, Naples 1988, p. 128, no. 100, figs. 122-123; Schloss Rohrau, Austria).

This present pair is one of three versions painted by Michele Foschini for various patrons in memory of the historical event. A larger pair, signed and dated, 1761, is in the Museo di San Martino, Naples and another replica, smaller in scale, is in Palma de Mallorca.