(Bedano, Switzerland 1743 – Milan 1839)
STUDIO DI AQUILA NELLA SUA NATURALE GRANDEZZA (Study of an eagle in its natural size), 1792
Etching and aquatint, printed in grey ink on soft laid paper. Titled, signed and dated in the plate at bottom Studio d'Aquila nella sua naturale grandezza / Giocondo Albertolli dis. / Giuseppe Longhi inc. 1792. Numbered in the plate Tav. III at top right corner.
To the platemark 220 x 368 mm, the full sheet 637 x 454.
Giuseppe Longhi (1766-1831) was a student of Vincenzo Vangelisti, who exercised considerable influence as head of the school of engraving in Milan. Longhi succeeded his master as the leading figure in Milanese printmaking. His book, La Calcografia became a standard bio-bibliography of the works of both Italian and continental engravers from the 15th through the 18th centuries.
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Neoclassical architect Giocondo Albertolli was born on 24 July 1743 in the town of Bedano in Switzerland. He studied at Parma under a sculptor, and also in the Academy. In 1770, he travelled to Tuscany to perform the stucco decoration of the Villa del Poggio Imperiale. He then visited Rome and Naples. In 1774, he returned north to his family and soon he met up with Giuseppe Piermarini for whom he collaborated. In 1776 he was elected professor of ornamenti architettonici (architectural ornament) at the newly created Brera Academy in Milan. From 1775-1779, Piermarini erected the Royal Villa at Monza, with Albertolli providing the stucco decoration. He also labored in the Palazzo Melzi d'Eril in Milan and designed the famed lakeside Villa Melzi d'Eril in Bellagio. Albertolli was much employed in decorating palaces, churches, and public buildings in Italy, and gave a new impetus to the art of ornamental design in that country, working on designs of altars, candlesticks, chalices, and lamps for churches. He published a number of treatises on his art. His son, Raffaello was an engraver.
