Painted in Venice in his final decade, this canvas was acquired by local private collectors before passing to dealer Gilberto Algranti in Milan by 1965. Sold through Old Master Galleries in Switzerland, it was permanently acquired by the J. Paul Getty Museum in 1970.
Marco Ricci is universally credited as the founding father of the 18th-century Venetian landscape style. "Landscape with Classical Ruins and Figures" is a text-book example of a 'capriccio'- a highly theatrical, fantasy vista where an artist combines real ancient monuments from completely different geographic areas into one imaginary scene. This work laid the direct structural blueprint that younger Venetian titans like Canaletto and Guardi, as well as the printmaker Piranesi, would copy and monetize for decades. Marco Ricci was a genius at painting turbulent skies, crumbling stones, foliage, and architectural perspective, but he openly struggled with human anatomy. To solve this, he collaborated with his wildly famous uncle, Sebastiano Ricci. Marco painted the colossal, overwhelming ruins, while Sebastiano brushed in the tiny, rustic figures scattered among the debris. Sorting out where Marco's brush ends and Sebastiano's begins is a major talking point in art connoisseurship. Interestingly, in the 1720s, wealthy British aristocrats traveling through Europe on the "Grand Tour" flooded Venice looking for souvenirs that captured the romantic, decaying power of Rome. Ricci designed these vast theatrical ruin-scapes precisely to target these ultra-wealthy British buyers (such as Consul Joseph Smith). It's a fascinating look at how commercial art markets dictated composition choices in the Late Baroque era.
This is a beautiful capriccio painting - one that combines buildings, ruins, and landscapes from different locations. Ricci has combined ancient Roman monuments, temples, and statues, to depict the spectacle and power of the ancient Rome.
