Francesco Zuccarelli
Francesco Zuccarelli (1702-1788), Italian painter,
was born at Pitigliano in Tuscany, and studied in Rome under Onesi,
Morandi, and Nelli.
At Rome, and later in Venice, he became famous
as one of the best landscape painters of the classicizing 18th century.
Having visited England on a previous occasion, he was induced by
some patrons to return thither in 1752, remaining until 1773, when
he settled in Florence, dying there in 1788.
Zuccarelli, who was one of the foundation members
of the Royal Academy, enjoyed the patronage of royalty and of many
wealthy English collectors, for whom he executed his principal works-generally
landscapes with classic ruins and small figures.
Some have considered his work was very unequal,
but at his best he rivaled the leading landscape painters of his
time. His paintings often bear a mark representing a pumpkin, a
pictorial representation of his name, which signifies little pumpkin.
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