AN ITALIAN MICROMOSAIC PICTURE OF A SHOOTING PARTY IN A RIVER LANDSCAPE

Unusually large in scale for the period, this mosaic depicts a shooting party in a river landscape in the style of Claude Lorraine. Trained in Rome, Luchini moved to Naples in the early 19th century where he is recorded as director of the mosaic studio between 1811-1814. Created under the patronage of Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies, this mosaic is dated to the year 1820 when a military revolt diminished his powers. See a pair of micromosaic portrait miniatures by Luchini thought to depict Ferdinand’s heir, Francis I, and his second wife in the Gilbert Collection (op. cit. No. 49, p. 105).