Lot 1562 Dα

Locatelli, who was primarily a landscape painter, was highly acclaimed during his lifetime. His first biographer, Niccolò Pio, records in notes of 1724 that Locatelli was mainly renowned for his idealised Roman landscapes. His works are based on the traditions of 17th century Roman landscape painting, thus he was influenced by predecessors such as Salvator Rosa, Giovanni Ghisolfi, Gaspard Dughet and Claude Lorrain. Locatelli is known to have already worked as a painter in 1715, and his patrons included important personalities such as members of the Ruspoli and Ottoboni families. Dated works by this artist are so rare that it is difficult to attribute his paintings to specific periods within his oeuvre.