Italienischer Maler des 17./ 18. Jahrhunderts Lot n° 343

STUDY VIEWS OF FOUR AMPHITHEATERS Oil on canvas. Doubled. 123 x 160 cm. At first, two paintings show views of round amphitheatres. First an amphitheatre over four floors, through which one enters the interior on the left side. At the lower right edge of the picture a lying man and a small winged putto. In front of the dark background with clouds, the bright amphitheatre comes into its own. In the second painting, the view, from an elevated vantage point, leads past a high obelisk, which almost reaches the end of the picture, into the interior of the theatre, where numerous figures with swords are to be seen fighting. At the lower right edge of the picture a woman in armour with helmet, who reminds of Athena. The other two paintings show a semi-circular amphitheatre, each connected to a fixed rectangular palazzo. In the frontal view of this theatre there are numerous niches decorated with sculptures and some friezes with figures. In addition, at the left edge of the picture an elderly man lying on his back with a scythe is depicted, probably as a sign of death. Finally, the other picture shows this amphitheatre in a side view with the numerous steps, at the right edge of the picture there is also a triumphal arch and in the middle, behind the theatre, a high plague column rises into the sky. On the left side, another complex can be seen which, together with the triumphal arch and the plague column, reminds of Rome. A woman in a yellow dress, with a torch-lit oil lamp in her hand, can finally be seen at the lower left edge of the picture. Each of the four amphitheatres depicted is visited by small staffage figures, which are intended to highlight the particular size of the respective theatre. Painting in mostly restrained colours in front of a dark background, in order to emphasize the size of the respective theatre by the brightness. Minor retouching. Provenance: Private collection Beaumont family. (1220745) (18) It