ANTONIO STOM
Venice?, 1688 ca. – Venice, 1734
Caprice from the lagoon of Venice
oil on canvas, cm 59,7×99
This caprice is a typical work by Antonio Stom, an extremely versatile artist – he painted scenes from history, battles and landscapes – who worked principally in Venice in the early decades of the Eighteenth century. Stom, who may be defined a “pre-Guardiesque painter”, has been portrayed for the first time in a study by Morassi from 1962 and more recently by Filippo Pedrocco.
As is often the case in the works of this artist, the scene takes place near water, of which surface reflects, according to the fashion of the time, contemporary buildings and classical ruins of colossal proportions that anticipate the motif which Piranesi was to render so popular some years later.
The scene is, in particular, dominated by the arch to the right, which is represented with an intuitive but efficient perspective. It appears to be inspired by Titus’ arch, one of the most famous monuments of antiquity. The scene is skilfully enlivened by the presence of figures engaged in various occupations, an indispensable ingredient in this kind of scenes.
In a description of the painting written for a catalogue published on the occasion of a public exhibition, the author underscores “the visionary character of this harbour”, dominated by the “cold grey-silvery light” characteristic of the painter, as well as the free brushstrokes that are very different from the neatly drawn contours of certain landscapists.
The painting was recently published by Giancarlo Sestieri.
Publications:
“Vedute di Venezia e capricci lagunari del XVIII e XIX secolo”, exhibition catalogue edited by Marzia Moschetta, Galleria Lampronti Lebole, Milan, 2004, pp. 14-15.
“Il capriccio architettonico in Italia nel XVII e XVIII secolo”, edited by Giancarlo Sestieri, Etgraphiae, Foligno, 2015, vol. III, p. 284, fig. 3.