A Collector's Cabinet

Private collection

genre

Although Bison is known for his Venetian vedute and depictions of Italy in general, he painted other subjects, too. The present interior scene belongs to a genre developed in the 1610s in Antwerp by Frans Francken II and Jan Brueghel the Elder. By the middle of the century, David Teniers took up the subject at the request of Archduke Leopold-Wilhelm von Habsburg who wanted to record his very rich collection of paintings.

About the Artist

Giuseppe Bernardino Bison

1772 – 1844

Italian painter, a pupil of Gerolamo Romani and Constantino Cedini in the Accademia of Venice. He was influenced by the Tiepolo and Francesco Guardi as well as Marco Ricci, Giuseppe Zais and Antonio Diziani and should be considered as one of the important artists who absorbed the characteristics of 18th-century Venetian painting and carried it forward into the 19th century. He is known mainly for his history pieces, genre depictions, and whimsical and imaginary landscapes, including veduta di fantasia or capricci. Most of his output was while working in Venice or in the near mainland (Ferrara, Trieste, and Padua). He died in Milan.

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