Marco Ricci (Belluno 1676-1730 Venice)

The fine penwork combined with losely applied wash seen here is close to that in a landscape drawing of similar size in the Royal Collection at Windsor Castle (inv. RCIN 905875; see A. Blunt and E. Croft-Murray, Venetian Drawings of XVII and XVIII Centuries in the Collection of Her Majesty the Queen at Windsor Castle, London, 1957, no. 112). It has been suggested that these small and freely executed sheets were produced early in the artist’s career. According to Robert Landolt, this sheet may have come from an album of 141 drawings belonging to Benno Geiger (see Provenance). For more on the provenance of this album see A. Bettagno, ‘Disegni di Marco Ricci: una questione di provenienza e un problema di dispersione’, in Hommage au dessin. Mélanges offerts Roseline Bacou, Rimini, 1996, pp. 418-437.