Anton Raphael Mengs, His Entourage, Man With A Beret And A Quill, 18th Century

Anton Raphael Mengs, his entourage, Man with a beret and a quill, 18th century. Anton Raphael Mengs (born March 12, 1728 in Ústí nad Labem; died June 29, 1779 in Rome) was a German painter and art theorist. He worked in Rome, Madrid, and Saxony. He was one of the forerunners of Neoclassicism in painting. He was one of the most important representatives of the Academy of Saint Luke (one of the oldest academies of painting, sculpture, and architecture in Italy).[1] Biography: He was born in Ústí nad Labem in Bohemia (German: Aussig an der Elbe). His father, Ismael Mengs, a miniaturist of Lusatian Jewish origin (but born in Copenhagen), was his first teacher, strict and sometimes despotic. His father also oversaw the education of his daughters, the brilliant Teresa Concordia (1725–1806) and Julia. In 1741, the young Anton accompanied his father to Rome, where he distinguished himself with his fresco of Parnassus, commissioned by Cardinal Alessandro Albani (Villa Albani). In 1746, Mengs traveled to Rome a second time, where he converted to Catholicism and married one of his models, Margarita Guazzi, in 1748. In 1749, he returned to Dresden, where, in 1751, he was appointed chief painter to Augustus III, King of Poland and Duke of Saxony, with an annual salary of 1,000 thalers. Shortly thereafter, he returned to Rome, where, in 1754, he became director of the Vatican School of Painting. In 1755, he met Johann Joachim Winckelmann, a German archaeologist and art historian, who quickly became his closest friend and exerted a considerable influence on Mengs's artistic vision. A few years later, a conflict arose between them, notably concerning a forgery painted by Anton, Jupiter Embracing Ganymede, which appeared to date from antiquity and perfectly met the expectations of contemporary patrons. Anton Raphael Mengs went to Spain, where he was quickly appointed First Painter to the Court of King Charles III. In Madrid, he directed the Royal Tapestry Manufactory of Santa Bárbara. He reorganized the manufactory, freeing it from the dominant Flemish motifs, particularly mythological subjects. He introduced Neoclassical principles into tapestry, which he applied to genre scenes and Spanish landscapes. This Enlightenment initiative aimed to capture the reality of the country. He was assisted by the architect Francesco Sabatini, the painter Mariano Salvador Maella, and later by Francisco Bayeu, who succeeded him as artistic director of the manufactory. Together, they employed young Spanish and Italian artists[3] such as José del Castillo, Ginés Andrés de Aguirre, Antonio Barbazza, Mariano Nani, Zacarías González Velázquez, José Camarón y Meliá, and Ramón Bayeu.[4] He noticed the talent of the young Francisco Goya (recommended by Francisco Bayeu) and commissioned him to create a series of tapestry designs (cartoons for tapestries). In addition to painting, Mengs also explored pictorial theory. In his works (written in Spanish, Italian, and German), he defended the idea that the path to perfection in painting lay in a harmonious combination of Greek classicism, the expressiveness of Raphael, the chiaroscuro of Correggio, and the palette of Titian. Mengs was friends with many artists, writers, and patrons, including Margravine Wilhelmine of Bayreuth. Giacomo Casanova mentions him several times in his memoirs. In 1777, Mengs returned to Rome, where he died two years later and was buried in the Church of Saints Michael and Magnus. Highly decorative. Technique: oil on canvas. Condition: very good, previous restoration. Signature: unidentified. Dimensions: canvas 64 cm x 77 cm, with frame approximately 69 cm x 87 cm. Origin: Europe. The gallery issues a certificate for each work.