Lot 141: The Adoration of the Magi

Pietro Bianchi (Rome 1694-1740) The Adoration of the Magi oil on canvas 28 7/8 x 24 in. (73.4 x 61 cm.)

London, Royal Academy of Art, Eighteenth Century, Winter 1954-5, no. 69, as Antonio Cavallucci.

Purchased in Rome, as 'Antonio Cavallucci', 1834, presumably by Eliza Hunter Blair, wife of Major-General Thomas Hunter Blair, and by descent.

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Anthony Clark, in the first article devoted to Pietro Bianchi, enthused that the artist was 'the most gifted and intelligent of Roman 18th century painters'. He goes on to lament that Bianchi has 'escaped modern critics [...]. Considering the quality involved this is a pity, for Bianchi at least equals his better known contemporaries (Constanzi, Masucci, Mancini) (A.M. Clark, 'Introduction to Pietro Bianchi', Paragone, 169, January 1964, pp. 42-3). A pupil of Gian Battista Gaulli, il Baciccio, he later joined the workshop of the great colourist Benedetto Luti, and soon became the latter's favourite pupil. Bianchi quickly created a distinctive style, combining the graceful and aristocratic manners of Luto with the delicate chiaroscuro of Trevisani, as well as showing an awareness of the art of Pompeo Batoni. He received a number of commissions from Roman churches, private collectors, the artistocracy and English Grand Tourists.