Corrado Giaquinto Circle

18th-century Italian school. Circle of CORRADO GIAQUINTO (Italy, 1703–1765/66).
“Apotheosis of Apollo.”
Oil on canvas.
The painting’s surface shows craquelure.
Measurements: 56 x 33 cm; 66.5 x 43.5 cm (frame).
This is a sketch that was ultimately intended to serve as the basis for a fresco. The work closely follows the style of Corrado Giaquinto, the leading figure of Rococo painting in Rome during the first half of the 18th century. His work served as a reference point for several generations of Spanish painters. Appointed court painter to Ferdinand VI in 1753—a position he held until 1762—he also served as artistic director of the Royal Tapestry Factory of Santa Bárbara and director general of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando. His artistic style, which began with the Rococo and gradually evolved toward an increasingly classical direction, is characterized by his great sense of composition and his chromatic subtleties of extraordinary beauty.