Updated 08 April 2025
On Display Permanent collection
On Display
Landscape with Shepherds
| Date | c. 1718-25 |
|---|---|
| Materials and Techniques | oil on canvas |
| Size（cm） | 93 x 130 |
| Credit Line | Purchased |
| Category | Paintings |
| Collection Number | P.1974-0006 |
This pair of large landscapes was created during Magnasco's most prosperous years, his second Milanese period of 1718-1725. The dark, but rich color palette, swirling brush strokes, and tall and slender figures crouching half hidden in shadows all contribute to the extremely dramatic, illusionary feel of Magnasco's painted world. Here Magnasco shows the beauty and power of nature in juxtaposition with the small powerless existence of mankind, battling valiantly in the face of nature. The impressionist touch of his brush strokes continued in the works of such 18th century Venetian painters as Guardi. (Source: Masterpieces of the National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, 2009, cat. no.47)
Provenance
Private coll., Wien; Galerie Nathan, Zürich; Purchased by the NMWA, 1974.
Exhibition History
- 1978
- European Landscape Painting, Yamanashi Prefectural Museum of Art, Kofu, 3 November 1978 - 15 January 1978, cat. no. 30
- 1997
- Resonating Love and Life: European Art from National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, The Niigata Prefectural Museum of Modern Art, Nagaoka, 12 April 1997 - 18 May 1997, cat. no. 6
Bibliography
- 1938
- Delogu, Giuseppe. Vier unveröffentlichte Gemälde von Magnasco. Pantheon. 11. Jg., 1938, p. 171, repr.
- 1945
- Pospisil, M. Magnasco. Firenze, 1945, pls. 58-59.
- 1949
- Geiger, Benno. Magnasco. Bergamo, Istituto italiano d'arti grafiche, 1949, p. 151.
- 1974
- Annual bulletin of the National Museum of Western Art. No. 8, 1974, p. 5.
- 1975
- Les cent chefs-d'œuvre du Musée National d'Art Occidental. Tokyo, The National Museum of Western Art, 1975 (Japanese), no. 16, repr.
- 1975
- Gazette des Beaux-Arts. ser. 6, tome 85, Mar. 1975, "Chronique des Arts", p. 67, no. 259, repr.
- 1976
- Bulletin Annuel du Musée National d’Art Occidental. No. 9 (1974), 1976, Nouvelles acquisitions, par Chisaburoh F. Yamada, pp. 4-5. Nouvelles acquisitions (catalogue). pp. 8-9, repr.
- 1978
- Masterpieces of the National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo. Tokyo, The National Museum of Western Art, 1978 (Japanese, preface in Japanese and English), no. 21, repr.
- 1979
- The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo: Catalogue of paintings. Tokyo, The National Museum of Western Art, 1979, no. 161, repr.
- 2006
- Masterpieces of The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo. Tokyo, The National Museum of Western Art; Tokyo, The Western Art Foundation, 2006 (Japanese, preface in Japanese and English), no. 47, col. repr.
- 2009
- Masterpieces of The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo. Tokyo, The National Museum of Western Art; Tokyo, The Western Art Foundation, 2009, no. 47, col. repr.