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FRANCESCO FONTEBASSO (Venice 1707 - 1769) CHRIST AND THE WOMAN TAKEN IN ADULTERY
Black chalk, 473 x 382 mm. Watermark: large cartouche with fleur-de-lis and countermark 'IV'.
The drawing is a copy after the large painting (ca. 1726-30) by Fontebasso's master Sebastiano Ricci, now in London, Department of the Environment. See Jeffery Daniels, 'Sebastiano Ricci', Hove, 1976; cat. no. 161. A drawing of the early 1730's, when Fontebasso was strongly influenced by Ricci.

A pupil of Sebastiano Ricci, Francesco Fontebasso spent a brief period in Rome around 1728 before returning to his native Venice. He established his career in Venice, and was soon in some demand as a fresco painter. He also worked in Padua, Treviso and Trent. In 1761 he visited St. Petersburg at the invitation of the Empress Catherine II. Fontebasso remained in Russia for almost two years, completing a number of decorative projects for the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg and other Imperial palaces, as well as painting portraits and genre studies. Although appointed a Professor at the Imperial Academy of Arts, he chose to return to Venice in 1762. He became a professor at the Accademia Veneziana, rising to the position of President in 1768. Fontebasso was a gifted and prolific draughtsman, with a particular style that owed much to the example of his teacher, Sebastiano Ricci. He was also an etcher.