Lot 153: ANTONIO CIOCI

ACTIVE IN FLORENCE 1722-1792 A CORNER OF THE ARTIST'S STUDIO: A TROMPE L'OEIL STILL LIFE WITH SHEETS OF DRAWINGS, KEYS, A PINCE-NEZ, BOOKS AND WRITING INSTRUMENTS signed on the sheet at the centre and extensively inscribed oil on canvas, unlined 65 by 52.5 cm.; 25 1/2 by 20 5/8 in.

This signed still life is a typical example of Antonio Cioci's interest in trompe l'oeil and interior spaces. The caricature drawing of the head upper left is closely reminiscent of the work of Franz Xaver Messerschmidt (1736 - 1783) who is known to have passed through Florence in 1765 on his return to Vienna from Rome. The Granduke of Florence at the time was Peter Leopold (later Holy Roman Emperor Leopold II), son of Emperor Francis I and Maria Theresa of Bohemia. Since Messerschmidt was called back to Vienna by Maria Theresa herself, it would seem likely that the artist would have stopped by the Florentine court to pay his respects to her son. It is here that Cioci is likely to have come into contact with the Austrian's idiosyncratic work.