Pier Leone Ghezzi

PIER LEONE GHEZZI (Comunanza 1674 - 1755).
Untitled.
Oil on canvas.
Includes export certificate.
Attached Tasart certification.
Measurements: 58 x 48 cm; 76 x 67 cm (frame).

Born in the Italian town of Comunanza, in the current region of the Marche, he was son of the painter Giuseppe Ghezzi by whom he was instructed together with the future painter Antonio Amorosi.
Later Pier Leone rubbed shoulders with the best Roman artistic circles and began to work in various painting-related professions. Member of the Academy of St. Luke, he was protected by Pope Clement XI and appointed official painter of the Apostolic Chamber in 1706, where he painted official portraits, among other commissions.
He was son-in-law of the painter Carlo Maratta.
Pier Leone Ghezzi painted the frescoes of the Villa Falconieri in Frascati and several religious canvases for various churches in Rome, but he is remembered above all for his caricatures, drawings inspired by various characters of the society and the panorama of the time (prelates, artists, nobles, foreign tourists, etc.), in which he skillfully exaggerates the postures and physical features of the character.
The piece we are dealing with is the portrait of a courtesan represented in the classical style, half profile, looking directly at the viewer and wearing clothes and jewelry that determine her social position. The woman is represented on a neutral background.