PAINTER FROM THE VENETO OF THE XVII-XVIII CENTURY Fortunes of the Sea Oil on canvas, 131X207.5 cm (2) Provenance: Private collection These large fantasy seascapes depicting 'fortunes of the sea' can be recognised without hesitation to a Veneto painter, as close as ever to Marco Ricci (Belluno, 1676 ; Venice, 1730) and even closer to the manner of Antonio Marini (Venice, 1668 ; 1725). The pictorial technique of touch and impasto with fast, almost instinctive brushstrokes is, in fact, peculiar to these masters, especially if one grasps their 18th-century interpretation of landscape. This perception can be grasped by carefully observing the scenic construction, conceived with Rococo sensibility, but still influenced by Baroque examples, uniting the noble strands of capriccio with Nordic instances in a discreet yet highly successful manner. With regard to the suggestions inferred from Salvator Rosa, it is assumed that both artists may have seen the Neapolitan's works in Rome or Florence, while the atmospheric sensibility appears indebted to the creations of Pieter Mulier known as the Tempest. The result is an interpretation of extraordinary atmospheric felicity (cf. R. Pallucchini, Studi ricceschi: contributo a Marco, in Arte Veneta, IX, 1955, pp. 171-198). Reference bibliography: L. Muti, D. De Sarno Prignano, Antonio Marini, Rimini 1991, ad vocem M. Silvia Proni, Antonio Maria Marini. Complete Works, Naples 1992, ad vocem Marco Ricci e il Paesaggio Veneto del Settecento, edited by D. Succi and A. Delneri, Milan 1993, ad vocem