Angelica and Medoro

The Dutch provenance of this hitherto unpublished picture supports the hypothesis that it was painted during Pelligrini's year-long sojourn in The Netherlands. After a stay in Antwerp, the artist travelled to The Hague where he became a member of the Painters' Guild on 13 May 1718. His best-known works from this period were the decorations in the 'Golden Room' of the Mauritshuis in The Hague, consisting of a three-part ceiling, two overmantels (one signed and dated 'Aug 26 1718 Pellegrini F') and four grisaille wall canvases (see G. Knox, Antonio Pellegrini 1675-1741, Oxford, 1995, pp. 137-145, figs. 111-14; B. Aikema and E. Mijnlieff, 'Giovanni Antonio Pellegrini in the Low Countries, 1716-18', Nederlands Kunsthistorisch Jaarboek, 1993, pp. 215-242).

The style of the present picture bears great similarities with the overmantels in the Mauritshuis, and the shaped top suggests that it too was probably intended as an overmantle.