Teodoro Matteini (Italian, 1754 - 1831)
An Allegory of Joy, Venetian canal and the Doge's Palace beyond 

signed and dated 'Teodoro Matteini, Venice, 1807' (lower right)
oil on canvas

Dimensions: 56 x 65 cm. (22 x 25 1/2 in.)

Sale: Christie's, London, 12 April 1991, where purchased by the family of the present owner,
Private Collection, UK

Born in the Tuscan city of Pistoia in 1754 to a family of painters, Teodoro Matteini learned the basics of his trade from his father, who decorated the palaces and villas around the city.

Moving to Rome in 1770, Matteini honed his craft by attending classes at the Accademia del Nudo in the Piazza del Campidoglio, distinguishing himself in various drawing and painting competitions. It is thought that he was a pupil of the great portraitist Pompeo Batoni (1708 –1787).

In the subsequent years, Matteini produced a number of public frescoes back in Tuscany, some now lost, and befriended contemporary neoclassical artists, including the great sculptor, Antonio Canova.

In 1794 he relocated to Florence as the protégé of Grand Duke of Tuscany, Ferdinand III de Medici, with his career reaching a crescendo in 1800 when he was commissioned to produce a portrait of Pope Pius VII. Painted from life, the striking depiction captures the pope’s own ‘humanity and expressiveness’, and led to a second papal portrait commission the following year.

The next year he was appointed a professor at the Venice Academia, where he remained as an academic and sought-after draughtsman until his resignation, shortly before his death in 1831.

It could be suggested that the subjects in the present painting are tourists visiting Venice. From the presence of a lyre sat beside the female figure, perhaps we can assume she was a musician.