FRANCESCO ZUCCARELLI

Pitigliano 1702 - Florence 1788

Born in Pitigliano, in southern Tuscany, Zuccarelli studied in Rome, with the portrait painters Giovanni Maria Morandi and Pietro Nelli. He completed is first commission in Pitigliano in the years 1724-27. With the sponsorship of the Florentine art connoisseur, Francisco Maria Niccolò Gabburri, in the late 1720s and early 1730s Zuccarelli focused on etching. During this Tuscan period he began also to experiment with drawings in landscape. In 1732 Zuccarelli relocated to Venice. While continuing to paint religious and mythological works, he increasingly devoted his output to landscapes. Prior to his arrival in the Republic, the death of Marco Ricci in 1730 had created an opening in the field of landscape painting amid a marketplace crowded with history painters, and Zuccarelli's unique blend of countryside and Arcadia quickly achieved success. In Venice his career grew rapidly working for the most famous collectors such as Marshal Schulenburg, Anton Maria Zanetti and Giambattista Albrizzi. His main patron was Consul Smith who in 1752 persuaded him to move and to follow Canaletto’s example and move to London. Zuccarelli stayed in London for 15 years, with a break of 3 years. There, he enjoyed considerable success and became a founder member of the Royal Academy before returning to Italy in the 1770s. Upon his return to Italy, Zuccarelli was soon afterwards elected President of the Venetian Academy.