River Landscape, Tempera On Canvas, Bologna 1802, Attributed To Fancelli And Zanotti

River Landscape, tempera on canvas, Bolognese school, dated 1802. The work bears an old inscription on the reverse attributing the landscape to Davide Zanotti and the figures to Fancelli, with the date 1802—a documentary element of particular interest for its historical and artistic interpretation. The composition depicts a vast river landscape conceived with a strong sense of perspective: from the valley in the foreground, the viewer’s gaze is gradually drawn toward the narrowing of the scene, between rocky gorges and distant hills. The treatment of light is particularly refined, playing on warm, brown tones and delicate atmospheric transitions that evoke twilight. The composition and subject matter are rooted in the tradition of Italian landscape painting from the late 18th to the early 19th century, still tied to the culture of the Arcadian and idealized landscape, yet already shifting toward a greater focus on natural and atmospheric effects. The work is in good condition and underwent a later restoration involving the replacement of the stretcher bars. It is mounted in a fine, handcrafted Tuscan frame with a finely carved and gilded back.

Canvas: 62 × 47 cm.

Frame: 90 × 77 cm.

Davide Zanotti (Bologna, 1733–1808) was a renowned Italian painter and quadraturista, active primarily in his hometown. Trained in the great Emilian decorative tradition, he distinguished himself as a master of ornamentation and landscape painting, collaborating on the decoration of important senatorial palaces and city churches (including Palazzo Hercolani and the Oratory of San Rocco). His landscape painting reflects a refined scenic sensibility, capable of blending the late Baroque style with proto-Romantic elements.

Pietro Fancelli (Bologna, 1764 – Pesaro, 1850) was an Italian painter and figurative artist, the son of the ornamental artist Petronio. He studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Venice and in Bologna, establishing himself as a highly regarded creator of altarpieces, devotional cycles (such as those in San Stefano in Bazzano), and decorations for public buildings and tombs at the Certosa di Bologna. A skilled portraitist and quadraturista, he often collaborated with other masters by incorporating figures and animated “macchiette” into landscape or architectural backgrounds.