Paolo Monaldi. 2 paintings. "A stopover in the countryside" and "A game of cards". Circa 1740

PAOLO MONALDI (post 1710-post 1779)

Stopover in the countryside

A game of cards

2 paintings.

Circa 1740

Without frame: 45 x 31cm each.

With frame: 61 x 48 cm each

This pair of paintings depicts two moments in the life of the Lazio countryside, near Rome, just outside the ancient Aurelian Walls.

The scenes of popular life, typical of 17th century Rome, are known as bambocciate. However, some details move our two paintings to a later period, in the 18th century. Unlike the Bamboccianti painters of the 17th century, mainly foreigners, the humble characters are represented without crudeness, without excessive accentuation of their social status.

The serene blue sky shows clear affinities with other Roman painters: Paolo Anesi and Andrea Locatelli. Monaldi was born into a wealthy and illustrious Roman family. He will work for the Chigi family with Paolo Anesi. He was in close contract with Marco Benefial, one of the leading masters of 18 th century Rome.

Paolo Monaldi can be considered the last of the Bamboccianti, he is inspired by the painting of Michelangelo Cerquozzi, and recovers the humanized and almost psychological way of representing horses, we could call them "talking horses". The way of representing them in our paintings can be compared to the painting in the National Museum of Sweden, attributed to Paolo Monaldi.
Compared to Cerquozzi's bambocciate, painted almost a century earlier, Monaldi's interpretation is delicate and pleasant, both in colors, light and shapes.
The two paintings are made with a very fine and extremely professional pictorial technique, which, 3 centuries after their creation, has allowed the paintings to arrive almost intact today.
Carved and gilded wooden frames of a later period.