Lot 84: Pietro Antoniani , Milan? 1740/50 - 1805 Milan View of Chiaia, Naples, looking towards Vesuvius; View of Chiaia, Naples, and Posillipo; View of the Strada Nuova, Naples, looking towards the Castello del Ovo; View of the Strada di Santa Lucia, Naples

a set of four, signed and inscribed on the reverse Veduta di Chiaja/fino all Vesuvio/P.A. Napoli 1774 ; Veduta di Chiaja/e tutto Posillipo/P.A. Napoli/1774 ; Veduta...Strada Nuova/fino ...(Cast) ello del Ovo / indistinctly P.A. Napoli/1774 ; Strada...Lucia/P.A. Napoli 1774 respectively all oil on canvas, unlined Quantity: 4

measurements note three: 12 1/8 by 18 1/2 in.; 31.2 by 47 cm. one: 12 by 18 1/2 in.; 30.5 by 47 cm.

Pietro Antoniani was born around 1740 in Milan, where three of his early works from the collection of the archbishop of Milan Cardinal Giuseppe Pozzobonelli (1696-1783) remain in the collection of the Arcivescovado.υ1 Described as "pittor di vedute, pittor di marine: Patria, milanese: Merito, bravissimo: operava 1775," Antoniani began his career in Milan, yet became one of the most able and prolific painters that flourished in Naples during the city's burgeoning 18υth-century European tourism, particularly under the patronage of British aristocrats who sought to return home with either antiquities or painted mementos of places visited.υ2 Since the recent discoveries of Herculaneum in 1739 and Pompeii a decade later, Naples established itself as a highlight for Grand Tourists, as its proximity to the active and volatile volcano Mt. Vesuvius enticed foreigners. It is not known when Antoniani moved to Naples, but the numerous variants of his views of the city and the presence of many of his works in English collections suggest sometime around 1770. Inscribed dates on the reverse of his extant paintings include 1771, 1775, 1776 and now 1774. Sir William Hamilton, British ambassador to the court of Naples from 1764-1800 and a most adept collector of antiquities and contemporary painters, is known to have commissioned two views from the artist, Naples from Mergellina in 1771 (English private collection) and The Eruption of Vesuvius of 1767 in 1776 (William Mostyn-Owen, London).υ3 As well as painting individual works and pairs of paintings, Pietro Antoniani, in common with other 18υth-century vedute painters, conceived larger sets of pictures that were intended to be displayed together. The present series of four views of Naples, each signed and dated 1774 on the reverse, is a prime example of such a set. In the present views of the Bay of Naples, in which most of the architectural details are topographically accurate and recognizable, Antoniani animates his compositions with the daily lives of the Neapolitan people. The View of Chiaia, Naples, Looking Towards Vesuvius, for example, most likely painted from the Convento di Sant' Antonio at Mergellina, depicts the star-shaped ramparts of the Castel Sant' Elmo (1527-46) with the Certosa di San Martino just below it. The promontory of Pizzofalcone sweeps across the bay and near the end of it stands the Chiesa della Concezione, known locally as "le Crocelle" (1617-27). Extending from the tip of the headland is the short causeway leading to the rocky islet of Megaris, once the site of a villa belonging to Lucullus but from the 9υth century dominated by the Castell' Ovo. View of the Strada Nuova, Naples, Looking Towards the Castello del Ovo documents other historical buildings but from the other side of the bay, including the Castel dell' Ovo which is visible in the extreme left. The old port lies protected near the Castel Nuovo, a fortress originally built by the Angevin kings but rebuilt by Alfonso d'Aragona in the mid-15υth century. To the right of this area the roofs of the Spaccanapoli district rise behind the facades of the Lungomare. In the two remaining views, View of Strada di Santa Lucia, Naples and View of Chiaia, Naples and Posillipo Antoniani gives equal attention to the grand Palazzos along both the Strada Santa Lucia and the residential quarter of Posillipo. 1. M. Bona Castellotti, Collezionisti a Milano nel '700, 1991, pp. 95-7.
2. As found in Pietro Zani's Enciclopedia Metodica...delle Belle Arti, 1817-24, and cited by M. Utili, in All' ombra del Vesuvio, exhibition catalogue, Naples, Castel Sant' Elmo, 12 May - 29 July 1990, p. 363.
3. These views were among Hamilton's collection, which were placed on the auction block in 1801: as by Antoniani Milanese, View of Naples and its Companion, the Eruption of Vesuvius in 1767 (Christie's, April 18, 1801, lot 8). A more curious listing occurs on the previous day where two works by Antoniani are listed: Two Views of Palermo and Four Views of Naples (Christie's, April 17υth, 1801, lot 3 and 4, respectively).