Francesco Foschi

The first complete and up-to-date monograph devoted to the 18th-century painter Francesco Foschi (1710-1780), refined landscapist famous for his suggestive winter landscapes.

Born in Ancona in 1710, Francesco Foschi had a prestigious career and became known as “Chevalier Foschi”. His works were very much in vogue in the late 18th century and were highly valued in the art market. Among the many collectors known to have cherished his winter scenes, were the Cardinal de Bernis, Ambassador of France in Rome, Sir William Hamilton, British Ambassador in Naples, the Count d’Orsay, the Marchis de Robien, Prince Camillo Borghese and Pauline Bonaparte.

Of noble background, Foschi started his artistic training very early as a figure painter in the workshop of Francesco Mancini: his early paintings representing The Metamorphoses of Ovid (unfortunately now untraced) document his beginnings with figure paintings. In 1729 he arrived in Rome, where Gaspar Van Wittel had created great interest for this kind of paintings with city views, which were admired by many collectors. This new vogue influenced Foschi in changing his artistic direction, inclining him to paint landscapes and view paintings. In 1750 Foschi dated and signed his first known winter landscape and continued painting this genre until his death in 1780, reaching in them the highest level of his art. In his snowy landscapes, Foschi focuses on careful observation of nature, using heavy brushstrokes and painting small figures in a soft, white landscape.