Allegorical Scene of Russia Partaking in Bounties of Civilization by Giuseppe Valeriani

Giuseppe Valeriani (Russian: Джузеппе Валериани; c. 1708,

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

1761/62,

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

) was an Italian-born Russian artist who primarily painted murals and stage scenery.

Biography

He and his brother Domenico initially studied with

Marco Ricci Marco Ricci (6 June 1676 – 21 January 1730) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period. Early years He was born at Belluno and received his first instruction in art from his uncle, Sebastiano Ricci, likely in Milan in 1694–6.Giacometti, Mar ...

in Venice. After Ricci's death, he obtained an apprenticeship with the decorative painter, Girolamo Bon (c. 1700-1766). Bon and his new wife Rosa (a

comic opera Comic opera, sometimes known as light opera, is a sung dramatic work of a light or comic nature, usually with a happy ending and often including spoken dialogue. Forms of comic opera first developed in late 17th-century Italy. By the 1730s, a ne ...

singer) went to Saint Petersburg in 1735, where he had been offered work as a scenic designer. In 1742, Bon invited two of his former students, Valeriani and Antonio Peresinotti, to join him there. He travelled there in the company of the opera composer, Francesco Araja, who was serving as

Kapellmeister (, also , ) from German ''Kapelle'' (chapel) and ''Meister'' (master)'','' literally "master of the chapel choir" designates the leader of an ensemble of musicians. Originally used to refer to somebody in charge of music in a chapel, the term ha ...

Empress Elizabeth Elizabeth Petrovna (russian: Елизаве́та (Елисаве́та) Петро́вна) (), also known as Yelisaveta or Elizaveta, reigned as Empress of Russia from 1741 until her death in 1762. She remains one of the most popular List of ...

. By 1745, he had become a Professor at the . He maintained a large workshop that employed numerous artists; including a young

Dmitry Levitzky Dmitry Grigoryevich Levitsky (russian: Дмитрий Григорьевич Левицкий, May 1735 – 17 April 1822) was a Russian portrait painter and Academician. Biography He was born to , a priest, who was also an amateur painter and ...

, who would later become a famous portrait painter. Among his best known works are ceilings at the

Catherine Palace The Catherine Palace (russian: Екатерининский дворец, ) is a Rococo palace in Tsarskoye Selo (Pushkin), 30 km south of St. Petersburg, Russia. It was the summer residence of the Russian tsars. The Palace is part of the ...

and its attached (destroyed by fire);

plafond A plafond (French for "ceiling"), in a broad sense, is a (flat, vaulted or dome) ceiling. A plafond can be a product of monumental painting or sculpture. Picturesque plafonds can be painted directly on plaster (as a fresco, oil, glutinous, s ...

s at

Peterhof Palace The Peterhof Palace ( rus, Петерго́ф, Petergóf, p=pʲɪtʲɪrˈɡof,) (an emulation of early modern Dutch language, Dutch "Pieterhof", meaning "Pieter's Court"), is a series of palaces and gardens located in Petergof, Saint Petersbur ...

and

Stroganov Palace The Stroganov Palace ( Russian: Строгановский дворец) is a Late Baroque palace at the intersection of the Moika River and Nevsky Prospect in St. Petersburg, Russia. The palace was built to Bartolomeo Rastrelli's designs for B ...

and a series of ten canvases depicting ancient Rome, now at the

Hermitage Museum The State Hermitage Museum ( rus, Государственный Эрмитаж, r=Gosudarstvennyj Ermitaž, p=ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)ɨj ɪrmʲɪˈtaʂ, links=no) is a museum of art and culture in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It is the list of ...

Sources

* , ''Музыка и балет в России 18 века'' (Music and Ballet in 18th Century Russia), Triton (reprint, 1935) * M. S. Konopleva, ''Театральный живописец Джузеппе Валериани'' (Theater painter Giuseppe Valeriani), Hermitage, 1948
Ozon
* Jacob Shtelin, ''Записки о живописи и живописцах в России'' (Notes on Painting and Painters in Russia)

External links

More works by Valeriani
@ ArtNet {{DEFAULTSORT:Valeriani, Giuseppe 1700s births 1760s deaths Italian painters Italian muralists Italian scenic designers Italian emigrants to Russia