Antonio Francesco Peruzzini (1643-1724) and Alessandro Magnasco (1667-1749)

Antonio Francesco Peruzzini (Ancona 1643 – Milan 1724) and Alessandro Magnasco (1667 - 1749)

The painting is an oil on canvas cm. 31 x 30.5
Framed, it measures cm. 39 x 38.5

Landscape with Washerwomen and a Resting Wayfarer

This refined canvas, a mature expression of the Baroque "di tocco" style, represents a masterful example of the artistic collaboration between landscape painter Antonio Francesco Peruzzini and Genoese painter Alessandro Magnasco, a partnership that marked a pre-Romantic turning point in 18th-century Italian painting. The work is distinguished by its vibrant, lively style: in the foreground, a group of washerwomen is captured in the midst of their activity, rendered with the characteristic "sparks" of white light that define their movement, a characteristic of the Lessandrino. At the bottom left, the figure of a reclining wayfarer with a staff anchors the composition, balancing the scene's dynamism. The background is dominated by wild nature, where the treetops seem to be stirred by the wind and the "celestial mountains" in the distance fade into a sky filled with billowing, textured clouds.
The composition of this painting reflects a refined "cabinet" format, the famous prototype formerly belonging to the historic Italico Brass Collection in Venice, published as a work by Magnasco in Armando Ferri's landmark 1922 monograph (Biblioteca d'arte illustrata, Plate XXX).
Compared to the monumental version, this almost square version displays a compositional synthesis of the highest quality: the artist has eliminated architectural elements to focus the pictorial energy on the contrast between the dark vegetation and the brightness of the sky. The freedom of the brushstrokes and the freshness of the details suggest that this is an autograph variant or a finished study, destined for a refined private collector of the time.
The painting retains a valuable historical testimony on the back: a handwritten label dated October 1888 documents an ancient relining performed in the Anglo-Saxon world. This detail not only confirms the work's international success already in the 19th century, but also guarantees its integrity, indicating a conservation intervention aimed solely at protecting the original support.