Andrea Locatelli, Italian 1695-1741- A rocky coastal landscape with soldiers gambling, a tower beyond; oil on canvas, bears wax seal on the reverse, 28 x 39.5 cm. Provenance: Anon. sale, Phillips, London, 6 Dec. 1988, lot 6.; Private Collection...

Andrea Locatelli, Italian 1695-1741- A rocky coastal landscape with soldiers gambling, a tower beyond; oil on canvas, bears wax seal on the reverse, 28 x 39.5 cm. Provenance: Anon. sale, Phillips, London, 6 Dec. 1988, lot 6.; Private Collection, UK. Note: Locatelli was influenced by Jan Frans van Bloemen, Giovanni Ghisolfi, Gaspard Dughet, Claude Lorrain, and especially Salvator Rosa. In turn, he influenced such artists as Paolo Anesi, Giovanni Paolo Panini, Paolo Monaldi, and Marco Ricci. He was commissioned by kings, queens, princes, cardinals and the wealthy, not only in Rome, but also throughout Europe. One family – the Colonna – owned 81 of his paintings. At a time when it was becoming fashionable to make the Grand Tour, his paintings spread widely. Demand caused him to duplicate dozens of nearly identical compositions. The present work is a finished study for Locatelli's larger painting (69 x 98 cm.) of the same subject, which was offered at Christie's, London, 12 Dec. 2001, lot 83.