ANTIQUE CIRCA 19TH CENTURY SIGNED WATERCOLOUR COPY BY L. DESIDERY OF AN ITALIAN RENAISSANCE SCENE - ARRIVAL OF THE AMBASSADORS - TAKEN FROM A SERIES OF PAINTINGS BASED ON THE LEGEND OF SAINT URSULA ORIGINALLY PAINTED BY VITTORE CARPACCIO IN 1497-1498
L. Desidery (Italian 19th century), after Vittore Carpaccio (Italain 1465-1520), "Stories from The Life of St. Ursula - Arrival of The Ambassadors", signed, watercolour, in ebonised slip and gilt frame, glazed. Frame: 40cm x 75cm. Image 31cm x 66cm. A magnificent 19th century copy of the 15th century original which hangs in the Gallerie dell'Accademia, Venice. Executed in exquisite fine detail, the image is very well preserved with colours remaining strong. The frame has some minor damages to extremities.
Listing note: Arrival of the Ambassadors - originally painted, in 1497–1498. The painting is set in an open pavilion, and its scene, divided into three parts, is read from right to left. The scene is reminiscent of the liturgical drama of the period, where all the characters sat on the stage and stood up when they had to take part in the play. On the right Ursula and her father are portrayed talking; sitting on the first step of a staircase leading to the interior is her nurse. The central scene portrays the meeting between the king and the ambassadors. In the background is a centrally planned temple and other imaginary buildings, resembling those of contemporary Venice. On the left, in the foreground under a loggia, is a marine panorama with a galleon. Outside the proscenium is a man wearing a red toga, a hint at the didascalos, a narrator figure of the Renaissance theatre who described or commented on the play to the audience, usually in the person of an angel. Among the spectators are characters wearing the crest of the Compagnia della Calza, a Venetian confraternity which organized events and spectacles during Carnival and other religious celebrations.
