Allegorical Scene of Russia Partaking in Bounties of Civilization by Giuseppe Valeriani

Giuseppe Valeriani (Russian: Джузеппе Валериани; before 1708,

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

April 18, 1762,

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

) was an Italian artist who primarily painted murals and stage scenery.

Biography

Giuseppe Valeriani was born in Rome. Several sources give his birth year as 1708, but this is incorrect and he must have been born before this year. In 1716 he and his brother Domenico began apprenticing under painter Marco Ricci in Venice. In 1821 the brothers were resident scenic designers at the

Teatro San Angelo The Teatro San Angelo (in Venetian) or Teatro Sant'Angelo (in Italian) was once a theatre in Venice which ran from 1677 until 1803. It was the last of the major Venetian theatres to be built in the 1650s–60s opera craze following Teatro Santi G ...

where their earliest designs were the sets for a production of

Giuseppe Maria Orlandini Giuseppe Maria Orlandini (4 April 167624 October 1760) was an Italian baroque composer particularly known for his more than 40 operas and intermezzos. Highly regarded by music historians of his day like Francesco Saverio Quadrio, Jean-Benjamin d ...

's '' Antigona''. They then worked as scenic designers for the Teatro San Giovanni Grisostomo from 1722 through 1731. They notably designed the sets for the world premiere of

Nicola Porpora Nicola (or Niccolò) Antonio Giacinto Porpora (17 August 16863 March 1768) was an Italian composer and teacher of singing of the Baroque era, whose most famous singing students were the castrati Farinelli and Caffarelli. Other students include ...

’s ''Ezio'' at that theatre in 1728. While primarily working out of Venice, the Valeriani brothers also had contracts with theaters elsewhere. In October 1724 they designed the sets for the Munich production of Pietro Torn’s '' Amadis di Grecia''. From 1731 through 1733 the brothers were committed to making designs to decorate the

Palazzina di caccia of Stupinigi The Palazzina di caccia of Stupinigi (Italian language, Italian for 'hunting residence' of Stupinigi) is one of the Residences of the Royal House of Savoy in the Metropolitan City of Turin in northern Italy, part of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites ...

in Turin; a contract they were given by the architect

Filippo Juvarra Filippo Juvarra (7 March 1678 – 31 January 1736) was an Italian architect, scenographer, engraver and goldsmith. He was active in a late-Baroque architecture style, working primarily in Italy, Spain, and Portugal. Biography Juvarra was born ...

. From 1735-1739 they were in

where Giuseppe was a resident scenic designer at the Teatro delle Dame. In 1742, Giuseppe Valeriani was appointed theatre engineer to the court of St. Petersburg. In St. Petersburg he designed the interior of the first opera house built in Russia; a building which was completed in 1750 and designed by the architect

Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli (; 1700 – 29 April 1771) was an Italian architect who worked mainly in Russia. He developed an easily recognizable style of Late Baroque, both sumptuous and majestic. His major works, including the Winter Palac ...

. It had its inaugural performance in December 9, 1750. He designed the sets to numerous operas at that theatre, including three operas by Francesco Araia: ''Alessandro nell’Indie'' (1755 and 1759), ''Amor prigioniero'' (1755) and ''Bellerofonte'' (1757). By 1745, Valeriani had become a Professor at the . He maintained a large workshop that employed numerous artists; including a young

Dmitry Levitzky Dmitry Grigoryevich Levitzky or Levitsky (; ; – ) was a Russian portrait painter and academician. Biography He was born to , a priest, who was also an amateur painter and engraver and served as his first art teacher. In 1758, he moved to S ...

, who would later become a famous portrait painter. Among his best known works are ceilings at the

Catherine Palace The Catherine Palace (, ) is a Rococo palace in Tsarskoye Selo ( Pushkin), located south of St. Petersburg, Russia. It was the summer residence of the Russian tsars. The palace is part of the World Heritage Site Saint Petersburg and Re ...

and its attached (destroyed by fire); plafonds at

Peterhof Palace The Peterhof Palace ( rus, Петерго́ф, Petergóf, p=pʲɪtʲɪrˈɡof; an emulation of German "Peterhof", meaning "Peter's Court") is a series of palaces and gardens located in Petergof, Saint Petersburg, Russia, commissioned by Peter th ...

and

Stroganov Palace The Stroganov Palace (Russian: Строгановский дворец) is a Late Baroque palace at the intersection of the Moika River and Nevsky Prospect in St. Petersburg, Russia. The palace was built to Bartolomeo Rastrelli's designs for B ...

and a series of ten canvases depicting ancient Rome, now at the

Hermitage Museum The State Hermitage Museum ( rus, Государственный Эрмитаж, r=Gosudarstvennyj Ermitaž, p=ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)ɨj ɪrmʲɪˈtaʂ, links=no) is a museum of art and culture in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and holds the large ...

. Valeriani died in St. Petersburg on April 18, 1762.

Sources

Citations

Bibliography

* , ''Музыка и балет в России 18 века'' (Music and Ballet in 18th Century Russia), Triton (reprint, 1935) * M. S. Konopleva, ''Театральный живописец Джузеппе Валериани'' (Theater painter Giuseppe Valeriani), Hermitage, 1948
Ozon
* Jacob Shtelin, ''Записки о живописи и живописцах в России'' (Notes on Painting and Painters in Russia)

External links

More works by Valeriani
@ ArtNet {{DEFAULTSORT:Valeriani, Giuseppe 1700s births 1762 deaths Italian painters Italian muralists Italian scenic designers Italian emigrants to Russia