Johann Anton Eismann (Salzburg 1604-1698 Venice)


A harbour with figures on the quayside in the foreground and ships at anchor in the bay beyondoil on canvas96.5 x 153cm (38 x 60 1/4in).
|ProvenancePossibly the Collection of Conte Ercole Giusti, SS Apostoli, Verona, 1718With A. Morandotti, Rome, 1969Collection of Fondazione Boris Christoff, ItalyLiteraturePossibly B. dal Pozzo, Le vite de' pittori, de gli scultori, et architetti veronesi, 1718 p.298 ( sei pezzi di Paefi di Eifmann contenenti vno vn fualiglio; vn' altro Porto di Mare, e gli altri quatro, antichita' e figure)'Notable Works of Art now on the Market' supplement in The Burlington Magazine, CXI 1969, no. 795, pl. XLII (as Francesco Simonini)E. A. Safarik, 'Johann Anton Eismann', in Saggi e Memorie di Storia dell'Arte, X, 1976, p. 73, cat. no. 53, and p. 132, ill. fig. 26In his article on Eismann, Safarik suggests that the present work may have formed part of a larger group of five works seen at the house of the Conte Ercole Giusti in SS Apostoli in Verona. The stylistic affinities together with the particularly large proportions of the present work and the four others of similar dimensions suggests that they may have been intended to hang together (see E. A, Safarik, 'Johann Anton Eismann', in Saggi e Memorie di Storia dell'Arte, X, 1976, p. 73, cat. nos 47, 48, 52, 53, and 56). By 1663, Eismann had settled permanently in Venice, where he had found great success. Many of the works which Safarik identifies as earlier than this date, tend to be found in locations outside of Italy, suggesting that Eismann was active both within and outside the country. He therefore dates the group of 'Veronese' pictures to a much later point in the artist's career.