The departure of Aeneas from Carthage

Alessandro Marchesini, son of the sculptor and architect Francesco Marchesini, trained in his native Verona in the studio of Biagio Falcieri before moving to Bologna to work under Carlo Cignani, where he developed a classical academic style. At the turn of the century, he decided that he needed to broaden his horizons, moving to Venice. Here his refined clientele requested mythological subjects with a preference for a smaller format, a move away from the larger scale religious commissions he had focused on previously. The Departure of Aeneas and lot 253, most likely date from the first decade of Marchesini’s Venetian career. A clear comparison can be made with the painting of circa 1710 in the Hermitage, the Dedication of a New Vestal Virgin. Lot 252, with its more pronounced Rococo style may have been executed slightly later.