Lot 3054* - A218 Tableaux de Maîtres Anciens - vendredi, 18. septembre 2026, 14h00
JAN FRANS VAN BLOEMEN, called ORIZONTE, and PLACIDO COSTANZI
(Antwerp 1662–1749 Rome) (1702 Rome 1759)
Mediterranean landscape with a town by the water and the Roman Belvedere. 1735.
Oil on canvas.
Signed and dated lower right: MDCCXXXV. ORIZONT. F.
101.3 × 140.1 cm.
Provenance:
- Auction Christie's, London, 16 April 1999, lot 118.
- With Richard Green, London.
- Sven A. Behrendt collection (verso with label).
- European private collection, by inheritance to the present owners.
Literature:
- Federico Zeri: Italian Paintings in the Walters Art Gallery, ed. Ursula E. McCracken, Baltimore 1976, Vol. II, pp. 509–10, no. 397.
This imposing Mediterranean painting transports us to the surroundings of Rome and was painted by Jan Frans van Bloemen circa 1735. The atmospheric landscape is a characteristic example of the late work of the Flemish painter active in Rome.
Born in Antwerp, Jan Frans van Bloemen trained under Anton Goubau (1616–1698) and probably reached the Eternal City via Paris and Lyon in 1689, where he remained for the rest of his life. In Rome he joined the artists' association known as the 'Bentvueghels', a community of predominantly Dutch and Flemish artists active there from circa 1620 to 1720. His nickname 'Orizzonte' probably arose there from his preference and mastery of expansive distant views. Within a short time he became one of the most highly regarded landscape painters and received numerous commissions for the decoration of palaces in and around Rome.
The figure staffage was added by Placido Costanzi, a member of the renowned Accademia di San Luca who was already valued during his lifetime for his elegance and clear line. Costanzi trained in the workshops of Francesco Trevisani (1656–1746) and Benedetto Luti (1666–1724), and expresses his characteristic style in the present painting. The collaboration between van Bloemen and Costanzi reflects an established practice in early 18th-century Rome. Leading landscape painters frequently worked with specialised figure painters to create works tailored to the taste of a steadily growing international clientele.
As Federico Zeri notes, Bloemen was probably inspired in this signed composition dated 1735 by Nicolas Poussin's (1594–1665) Landscape with Diogenes, now in the Louvre in Paris (inv. no. INV 7308; MR 2330, oil on canvas, 160 × 221 cm). As in the present landscape, the Roman Belvedere can be seen on the left, together with the domed architecture on the right, recalling the church of Sant'Andrea in Rome, built in 1553.
Born in Antwerp, Jan Frans van Bloemen trained under Anton Goubau (1616–1698) and probably reached the Eternal City via Paris and Lyon in 1689, where he remained for the rest of his life. In Rome he joined the artists' association known as the 'Bentvueghels', a community of predominantly Dutch and Flemish artists active there from circa 1620 to 1720. His nickname 'Orizzonte' probably arose there from his preference and mastery of expansive distant views. Within a short time he became one of the most highly regarded landscape painters and received numerous commissions for the decoration of palaces in and around Rome.
The figure staffage was added by Placido Costanzi, a member of the renowned Accademia di San Luca who was already valued during his lifetime for his elegance and clear line. Costanzi trained in the workshops of Francesco Trevisani (1656–1746) and Benedetto Luti (1666–1724), and expresses his characteristic style in the present painting. The collaboration between van Bloemen and Costanzi reflects an established practice in early 18th-century Rome. Leading landscape painters frequently worked with specialised figure painters to create works tailored to the taste of a steadily growing international clientele.
As Federico Zeri notes, Bloemen was probably inspired in this signed composition dated 1735 by Nicolas Poussin's (1594–1665) Landscape with Diogenes, now in the Louvre in Paris (inv. no. INV 7308; MR 2330, oil on canvas, 160 × 221 cm). As in the present landscape, the Roman Belvedere can be seen on the left, together with the domed architecture on the right, recalling the church of Sant'Andrea in Rome, built in 1553.
CHF 30 000 / 50 000 | (€ 30 930 / 51 550)
Vendu pour CHF 68 750 (frais inclus)