Lot 100: Pietro Antonio Rotari (Verona 1707-1762 St. Petersburg)

Thetis dipping Achilles in the Styx
oil on canvas
83 1/8 x 63 1/2 in. (211.1 x 161.3 cm.)

We are grateful to Professor Ugo Ruggeri for confirming the attribution to Pietro Rotari on the basis of photographs. He notes that it is a 'bella e variata versione' of the picture depicting the same theme by Antonio Balestra (sold Christie's, London, 23 March, 1990, lot 13). Rotari first studied in his native Verona with Balestra before departing for Rome and Naples in 1728, where he entered the studio of Francesco Trevisani and then that of Francesco Solimena. He returned to Verona in 1734 and opened a private academy. There, he concentrated on the production of historical and religious paintings that were to bring him international fame. In 1740, Rotari was awarded the title of Count of the Venetian Republic in recognition of his achievements. The following year he travelled to Vienna, where he met Jean-Etiénne Liotard whose work profoundly influenced him. Rotari was in Dresden in the service of Frederick Augustus III when he received the invitation of the Empress Elisabeth of Russia, daughter of Peter the Great to come to Saint Petersburg as Painter of the Court. He arrived in Russia in 1756, where he remained until his death, amassing a large fortune; indeed a visit to his richly appointed house on the Bolsciasia Morskaia became obligatory for high-ranking visitors to the city.

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