Oil on canvas by Francesco Perezzoli: the birth of Venus, Italy early 18th century.

Italy circa 1700.

A northern early XVIII century oil on canvas painting by Francesco Perezzoli (1661–1722), depicting The Birth of Venus. The work is housed in a period giltwood frame, smooth in its curved profile and with a flowing outline. This mythological scene unfolds in the open sea, with the artist choosing a pyramidal composition that places the emerging Venus at the very center of a highly intricate and dynamic design. At the goddess’s feet lies the Pecten jacobaeus—the scallop shell also known as the “Shell of St. James”—which carries her toward the shore. Surrounding her is a crown of Tritons and Nereids, rising from the foaming waves. The painting’s strong vertical thrust is both graceful and fluid, anchored by an extraordinary composition of billowing drapery that wraps around the goddess, swelling upward, supported by a host of winged putti, and ultimately gathered by a Nereid. The artist, born in Verona, later settled in Milan, where he spent the rest of his life.

36”– 92 CM H 45” –114 CM L 3” – 8 CM D

REF: V273