Pietro Antoniani (Milan circa 1740-1805)
A view of Paesteum with Grand Tourists in the foreground
oil on canvas
32.7 x 49.5cm (12 7/8 x 19 1/2in).
Footnotes:
Provenance
Sale, Sotheby's New York, 31 January 2019, lot 294
Where purchased by the present owner

The Greek remains of the temples at Paestum, discovered in the mid-18th century, proved a major Grand Tourist destination and probably provided most tourists with their first impressions of Classical Greek architecture. The ruins were hugely influential in the formation of the Neo-classical taste popular later the same century.
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The canvas has been relined and the paint surface is relatively clean. There is some minor abrasion around the edge of the canvas presumably where the frame has rubbed.
Inspection under ultra-violet light is difficult as the varnish is a little uneven but there appears to be some infilling to the craquelure of the sky and a little retouching to the figures and foliage.

Unexamined out of the frame.