Giovanni Grevenbroeck / Il Solfarolo, View of the Port, 1680, Oil on Canvas

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Description

Giovanni Grevenbroeck, known as Solfarolo (Netherlands, c. 1650 – Milan, post-1699)

Moonlit Harbor View

Oil on canvas (70 x 132 … Read more Giovanni Grevenbroeck, known as Solfarolo (Netherlands, c. 1650 – Milan, post-1699)

Moonlit Harbor View

Oil on canvas (70 x 132 cm - Framed 86 x 146 cm)

Critical Notes: Expertise by Emilio Negro

We are pleased to present this delightful nocturnal coastal view, illuminated by the cold moonlight and set in a fantastical harbor with an almost surreal atmosphere, rendered captivating by the use of almost monochrome hues, with a characteristic predominantly brown tone softened by golden highlights.

The seascape is organized through a skillful juxtaposition of realistic elements with those of pure fantasy, and is therefore characterized by steep hills, imaginary buildings, numerous vessels, and the presence of numerous characters busy with their activities. This compositional choice echoes the works of numerous Northern European artists active in Italy during the 17th century—from Pieter Mulier (the Knight Tempest) to Adriaen van der Cabel, to name a few—who popularized an alternative to classicist vedutism, combining realist vision with imaginative details.

All these elements—combined with the unmistakable clouds with their characteristic atmospheric, chromatic, and luminous qualities—connect our painting to the oeuvre of Giovanni Grevenbroeck (Netherlands, c. 1650 – Milan, post-1699), founder of the family of painters from the Netherlands.

The painting expresses all the stylistic and pictorial characteristics of his work, in one of the favorite subjects of his famous workshop: the scene set in a fantastical port is the most typical of his repertoire, always halfway between figurative and capriccio.

After his apprenticeship in Flanders, Giovanni Grevenbroeck arrived in Italy, specifically in Rome, receiving numerous commissions from the great noble families, such as the Colonna family. His Roman sojourn, however, was a brief interlude in his career, which would be largely spent in Milan from 1672 onwards, where he spent much of his life painting highly successful landscapes and seascapes at dawn and dusk, listed in the inventories of the most important local art galleries of the time.

His numerous compositions, as is the case with the present canvas, also evoke the qualities of seventeenth-century Roman landscape painting, enlivened by both the Northern European examples of Claude Lorrain and the Central Italian works of Salvator Rosa. His distinctive trait is his rendering of port views as flamboyant vistas, relying on the use of light to highlight naturalistic details with his characteristic atmospheric tones.

To be convinced of the attribution, it is sufficient to compare the canvas with the majority of his pictorial oeuvre, particularly the Seascapes at Sunrise and Sunset from Chateauroux (Musée Bertrand) or, even more so, the Seaports from Alençon (Musée des Beaux-arts et de la Dentelle). These works are sometimes attributed to one or other of his sons, but can be traced back to Giovanni thanks to more recent studies of the prolific work of this active family of 17th-century landscape painters.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

The work is completed by an antique frame and is sold with a certificate of authenticity and guarantee. This piece is attributed to the mentioned designer/maker. It has no attribution mark and no
official proof of authenticity,
however it is well documented in design history. I take full responsibility for any authenticity



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