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Pietro Longhi and Carlo Goldoni: relations between painting and theater
Pietro Longhi (1702 - 1785) made his debut as a er, the Canaletto of Settecento daily life7. Longhi's
young painter with a series of spectacular failures, blandly descriptive style is partially respon-
the most notable being the Fall of the Giants (Ve- sible, since it is sufficiently precise in record-
nice, Palazzo Sagredo; dated 1734). He left Venice
soon thereafter, possibly to avoid embarrassment
asunto non e di gran caso riservandomi al secondo
or perhaps to improve his art, but in either case his che sara gustoso e dart piacere.<< Bassano, Museo Ci-
natural facility as a history painter had proved so vico, ep. Remondini XIII-25-3543, 7 Dec. 1748; Al-
scant that he turned to genre painting, under the do Rav'i, Pietro Longhi, Florence, 1923, 27-28.
inspiration and guidance of Giuseppe Maria s For a complete bibliography and an anthology of the
more important contributions up to 1968, see Pi-
Crespi. As Mariette concluded: 4I1 squt se rendre gnatti, Longhi, 13-18 and 70-80. Michael Levey
justice et juger qu'il ne r6ussiroit pas de meme a summarizes the question of iconographic studies in
traiter I'histoire dans le grand genre. Ii se borna a Longhi scholarship in a review of Pignatti's mono-
celui-ci (des sujets de conversation, de fetes et de graph (in Art Bulletin, LII, 1970, 463): >On the
question of the subject-matter of the paintings he
(Pignatti) has not a great deal to say. Indee , he
mascarades)
simple formatetcommensurate
il fut gouit.<<'.
withLonghi adopted
his abilities -a a seems as baffled as most commentators have been as
shallow, windowless stage rarely with more than to what exactly is happening in some scenes... (Lon-
nine figures in restrained poses - and maintained it ghi's) subject-matter, however, requires closer scru-
tiny than it has so far received.<< Six years later Char-
with no variation throughout a forty-five year
les McCorquodale (?Italian painting of the seven-
career. His Venetian collectors, mostly patri- teenth and eighteenth centuries,<< Connoisseur,
cians2, never tired of this compositional monoto- CXCIII, 1976, 211) could make the same statement
ny because they were more interested in the sub- with equal accuracy: >>Longhi's iconography re-
mains to be carefully studied. << Two interesting con-
jects than the style. Alessandro Longhi wrote that tributions should be noted. The history of the rhino-
his father wished to amuse by painting >>Conver- ceros portrayed by Longhi is discussed by T. H.
sazioni, Riduzzioni, con ischerzi d'amori e di Clarke, >The Iconography of the Rhinoceros,<<
Connoisseur, 1974, 113-122. In a brief discussion on
gelosie<3. The painter himself assured Giovanni
Longhi, Ronald Paulson (Emblem and Expression,
Battista Remondini, his Udinese publisher, that
Cambridge, Mass., 1975, 108-112) applied a simple
his work >>sara gustoso e dara piacere<4. technique - an attentive visual examination of details
Given these indications of intent, it is curious - to arrive at some important conclusions concerning
that the precise content of Longhi's subject matter the erotic content of Longhi's work. Paulson's ap-
proach is important only because it is new to Longhi
has never been analyzed5. Historians of costume,
interior decoration and social customs often cite studies. Its utility, however, is severely limited be-
cause it relies exclusively on internal, visible eviden-
his paintings as documentary evidence6. Some his- ce without reference to any information from cul-
torians of art consider him an interior viewpaint- tural or social spheres. For example, Paulson's ob-
servation that the geography tutor is more interested
1 Pierre Jean Mariette, Abecedario, ed. Ph. de Chen- in his pupil's bosom than the terrestrial globe (in The
nevieres and A. de Montaiglon, Paris, 1854-56, III, Geography Lesson, Venice, Querini Stampalia Gall.)
221. is based on a visual pun: two different types of curva-
2 Francis Haskell, Patrons and Painters, N. Y., 1963, ture form the ostensible and real objects of study.
323; Terisio Pignatti, Pietro Longhi, Venice, 1968, This pun has its analogy in the linguistic identifica-
20-22. Neither mentions a unique notice establish- tion of a woman's breasts and globes. Gian Battista
ing the original location of his paintings in a patri- Casti (1724-1803): >Le sporgean dal sen duri, ampi e
cian's palace. An inventorK of 1753 notes that an un- tondi i due globi che parean due mappamondi<< (in
specified number of Longhi's works hung in >,le Ca- Opere, Turin, 1849, I, 292).
mere delle Donne<< in the Casino of Marina Sagredo 6 Pompeo Molmenti, La storia di Venezia nella vita
Pisani (Biblioteca Correr, Cod. P. D., C 2750 bis/ privata, II Decadimento, Bergamo, 1929, III,
12). 170-172 and 391-394; G. Morazzoni, La moda a
3 Alessandro Longhi, Compendio delle Vite de'Pittori Venezia nel secolo XVIII, Milan, 1931; R. Levi-Pi-
Veneziani, Venice, 1762, n. p. setzky, >>La couleur dans l'habillement italien, << Actes
4 >La diligenza vi sono ma non vi sono il grandioso du Jer Congres International d'histoire du costume,
masime nelle arie delle teste come sono nel quadro Venice, 1955; Rosita Levi Pisetzky, Storia del
che qui il sig. Faldoni come intagliatore valente potrai costume in Italia, Milan, 1964, IV; Guy Dumas, La
aggiustare e conservar belle arie nelle teste e sempre fin de la Republique de Venise, Paris, 1964, p. 80;
un gran lume nella figura di meso. Questo primo Charles Diehl, La Rcpublique de Venise, Paris,
256
257
1967, 257-258; Maurice Andrieux, Venise au temps Levey, Painting in XVIII Century Venice, London,
de Casanova, Paris, 1969, 252-253; Maurice Row- 1959, 114: >(Longhi's) mind had shown neither desi-
don, The fall of Venice, London, 1970, 56-57; Gui- re nor ability to express anything other than what it
do Perocco and Antonio Salvadori, Civilta di Vene- registered as seen< (his emphasis). Here Levey was
zia, Venice, 1973, III, 1091-1092; Hermann Schrei- probably expressing his dissatisfaction at scholars'
ber, Das Schiff aus Stein; Venedig und die Venezia- inflated praise of Longhi's artistic merit, rather than
ner, Munich, 1979, 280. just a belief in Longhi's total objectivity.
7 G. Damerini, I pittori veneziani del '700, Bologna, 8 For a general discussion and complete bibliography,
1928, 80; John Maxon and Joseph Rishel (eds.), see Ludwig Schudt, Italienreisen im 17. und 18.
Painting in Italy in the Eighteenth Century: Rococo Jahrhundert, Vienna-Munich, 1959; C. del Balzo,
to Romanticism, Chicago, Art Institute, 1970, 76: L'Italia nella Letteratura Francese, Turin, 1907,
?Longhi is completely without editorial comment. 444f. Two typical comments: John George Keysler,
He recognizes social situations for their pictorial va- Travels through Germany, Bohemia, Hungary,
lue and records them as situations; he seems to say, Switzerland, Italy and Lorrain, London, 1765, IV,
>This is the way it is,< and leaves it at that. <; Michael 11: )Young persons, who seek for entertainment on-
258
259
260
261
>>Siestu maledio, che el me fa deventar matto anca lo, but only as representatives of different subject
mi<<24. In contrast, Goldoni considered his own matter: >>un'adunanza da ballo, una ventura di
style as >familiare, naturale e facile, per non di- amore(( versus >>un fatto d'arme, un'adunanza di
staccarsi dal verisimile,<< one that captured an personaggi grandi, uno sbarco<27. However, if
uninflected reality25. Gozzi's comparison of Longhi and Tiepolo were
However varied the conceptual and etymologi- extended to include style, it would become evi-
cal terminologies of pictorial and literary stylistic dent that the complex figural and coloristic dy-
analysis might be, it is nonetheless remarkable namics of Tiepolo are >>ridiculously gigantic and
how closely Longhi stands to Goldoni's reform. romantic(( when they are judged against the stan-
Gasparo Gozzi, the editor of the Gazzetta veneta dard of Longhi's unpretentious simplicity. Gozzi
and an assiduous commentator on Venetian socie- seems to have had this in mind when he compared
ty, noted that the styles of Goldoni and Longhi some imaginary genre paintings to a picture where
were both characterized by refinement and everything >>sembra piuttosto tratto da que' nuvo-
grace26. Gozzi also compared Longhi and Tiepo- loni, che volano per l'aria la State, ne' quali si ve-
24 Goldoni, I Due Gemelli Veneziani (III, 7); in Opere, di quello in ogni argomento da lui preso a lavorare.<<
II, 213-214. On Alles. Longhi: >>Sono infiniti gli aspetti e innu-
25 Goldoni, Teatro Comico (II, 2); in Opere, II, 1068. merabili le facce, con le quali si presenta la natura a
26 Gozzi, Gazzetta veneta, n. LXXII, 11 Oct. 1760. poeti e a pittori... ma vi aggiunge di sua mano la mo-
He does not attribute the portrait, but the joviality venza del corpo, quelle tinte leggiere e quegl' infiniti
that he saw in Longhi's work in general (L'Osserva- tocchi che passano cosi l'uno in altro. << (Gazzetta ve-
tore veneto, 14 Feb. 1761, p. 29) reappears here. He neta, n. LV, 13 Aug. 1760). Also in this passage,
also describes Goldoni's style in similar terms as Gozzi calls Pietro Longhi a painter of grazia, a quali-
Longhi: on Goldoni- >>pensando e meditando al suo ty he associates with Goldoni in the 11 Oct. 1760
tavolino, puo a suo agio ripescare e razzolare in tutte entry. See Masi, Storia del teatro, 239 ff.
le fibre del cuore umano, e dipingere le infinite facce 27 Gozzi, Gazzetta veneta, n. LV, 13 Aug. 1760.
262
263
264
265
carattere ben formato, e so imitare ogni condizio- notizie della moglie, de'figliuoli, delle faccende.
ne di stampa. In quelle poche ore, che m'avanzano Alle buone si ricrea, alle malinconiche si sbigottis-
dall' altre mie occupazioni, con certi ferruzzi ce. la- Ad ogni parola ha una faccia nuova. L'amico
voro alcune cornici; onde in non so alquante car- sta per licenziarsi, non vuol che vada si tosto. Ap-
tepecore, che poi le vo incorniciando e facendone pena si puo risolvere a lasciarlo andare. L'ultime
suo voci sono: Ricordatevi di me. Venite. Vostra e
piccioli quadri, certe figure, non di visi, o di corpi,
ma d'animi, e di costumi; ... Intanto vi mandolalacasa mia in ogni tempo. L'amico va. Chiuso
copia di due d'essi ritratti, acciocchi vediate la l'uscio
ma- della stanza: Maladetto sia tu, dice Lisan-
niera del mio dipingere senza pennello, e chieden- dro, al servo, No ti diss'io mille volte, che non
do scusa della libertY, ch'io mi prendo, son vostro voglio importuni? Dirai da qui in poi, ch'io son
di cuore<<9. Each ,picture< portrays a deceitful fuori. Costui nol voglio. Lisandro e lodato in ogni
person or situation. Since this remarkable entry luogo
of per uomo cordiale. Prendesi per sostanza,
the Osservatore has not been mentioned in histo- l'apparenza<<.
rical studies, at least one character portrait >>al Gozzi ended another portrait with the comment:
Longhi<< deserves unabridged quotation: >Lisan- >I1 mondo vuol maschere, ed estrinseche supersti-
dro avvisato dallo staffiere, che un amico viene a
zioni.<< Gozzi's portraits are invaluable because
visitarlo, stringe i denti, gli diruggina, i pieditheyin convey the meaning of Longhi's vision more
terra batte, smania, borbotta. L'Amico entra,completely
Li- than any other source, even though
sandro s'acconcia il viso: lieto, e piacevolenone lo relate directly to any particular painting by
rende: con affabiliti accoglie, abbraccia, fa conve-Longhi. However the recurrent theme of dissimu-
nevoli: di non averlo veduto da lungo tempo silation la- does.
gna: Se piii differira tanto lo minaccia. Chiedegli 19 Gozzi, Osservatore veneto, 14 Feb. 1761, 28-29.
266
. ........
.f:
,.
. . . ..
.. . .... . ? . . , . .
,.+ ,.~r
hi .. .. ?; iJ
+,++. ~ ~ .r r? a" f .+.rjm, ,
?11, 7, 1 2 c
arti of women in
Goldoni loved fainting women. Mirandolina in his own life. Madame Medebach,
La Locandiera simulates a faint to make who the
was an Cava-
excellent actress given to the vapours,
feigned
liere di Ripafratta fall in love with her40. illness
The to elicit sympathy, but in such cases
stage
instructions read: >Mirandolina. Senze >>on n'avoit qu'a proposer de donner un beau r6le
parlare,
a jouer a une
cade come svenuto sopra una sedia.<< While she Actrice
is subalterne, la malade gueris-
soit sur-le-champ<<42.
>unconscious<<, the Cavaliere speculates on its Madame Medebach pro-
vided Goldoni with a model for Rosaura in La
meaning: >> svenuta. Che fosse innamorata di
me? Ma cosi presto? E perche no? NonFinta
sonoAmmalata,
io in- whose psychosomatic illness
namorato di lei?... Ma se e svenuta per me. Oh,
manifested itself by swoons, serving to communi-
cate
come tu sei bella!<< After the Cavaliere goesher out
love of
for Lelio43.
the room to fetch some water, Mirandolina >>re-
40 Goldoni, La Locandiera (II, 17); in Opere, IV, 832.
vives<< so that she may observe in an41aside how
Ibid. Mirandola: ,Oh, il signor Cavaliere non s'in-
successfully her strategm has worked: >Oranamora. Conosce
poi e l'arte. Se la furberia delle donne:
caduto affatto. Molte sono le nostre armi, colle
alle parole non crede; non lagrime non si fida. Degli
quali si vincono gli uomini. Ma quando sonopoi se ne ride.<< Cavaliere: ,Sono dunque
svenimenti
finte le lagrime delle donne, sono mendaci gli sveni-
ostinati, il colpa di riserva sicurissimo e menti?<<
uno sveni-Mirandola: >Come! Non lo sa, o finge di
mento.<< She then returns to her supine state when Cavaliere: >Giuro al cielo! Una tal fin-
non saperlo?<<
she hears the Cavaliere returning. Later in the
zione play
meriterebbe uno stile nel cuore.<o
he starts to lose his naivete concerning 42 Goldoni,
the dis- Mimoires, pt. II, chap. 10; in Opere, I,
286.
sembling arts of women and yet accepts the
43 The arti- faint was also used in French litera-
simulated
fice of fainting as just another attraction ture. of wo-uses this device to seduce Angola in La
Zobeide
men41. Goldoni had occasion to observe Morliere's
similarAngola (in Contes, ed. O. Uzanne, Paris,
267
268
lazzo Rezzonico; fig. 7) and the Temptation Longhi lack sufficient definition to allow accurate
(Hartford, Wadsworth Atheneum Museum; fig. interpretations. The Faint, however, is unusual
8). The intensity of these stares is certainly less because its gestures have greater resolution than
gentile than the ,pupille amabili<53 exchanged in most paintings by Longhi. The r6les of the lady
the previous examples and much closer to the with smelling salts and the protective gentleman
are explicit, but those of the two principal actors -
,ochio lascivio in ziro e seducente< described by the nobleman and fainted woman - are less clear,
Angelo Maria Labia"4. The lustful monk in the
Temptation and the pandering teacher in the Ge- even though they are distinctly posed.
ography Lesson were well-known objects of sati- The nobleman seems to have been the catalyst
re, and hence are easy to interpret, or at least their for the fainting spell. His gesture - right arm and
intentions are. The monk's gaze may seem impro- hand extended with palm up; left hand on chest -
bable for a realistic narrative, in that it goes unno- directed to the lady who has fainted indicates the
ticed by everyone, but it may simply be a visual nature of his intervention. It is repeated in two of
equivalent of the dramatic aside. Both serve to in- Pietro Antonio Novelli's illustrations for the Pas-
form the audience or viewer of certain thoughts quali edition of Goldoni's collected works (figs. 9
without being heard or seen by others. and 10). By 1761 Novelli had designed a series of
Unfortunately gestures with the arms and hands engravings, each showing a scene from the come-
are more difficult to read. They are like dialects, (Venice, Palazzo Rezzonico) with a pair of amorous
varying so widely by region that they become in- dogs, the Quack (Venice, Rezzonico), the Ridotto
comprehensible if transported, which may be one (Venice, Galleria Querini) and the Ridotto (Segromi-
gno Monte, Salom Collection).
reason why Longhi's clientele was predominantly 53 Pignatti, Longhi, 89.
Venetian. Emphatic gestures often signify univer- 54 In La Moda Corrente. Eugenio Vittoria, Antologia
sally, but many of the tentative movements by della lirica Veneziana, Venice, n. d., 33.
269
270
ness.
his arm to his daughter. In the engraving for La Like Rosaura in La Finta Ammalata, she is
Finta Ammalata, Novelli shows two quack physi-
love-sick and indicates the nature of her problem
cians, Buonatesta and Malfatti, as they takeby
the
touching her heart. Their attitudes are also si-
pulse of Rosaura, who has fainted onto a milar
chair to the young man in the Tickle (Lugano,
Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection; fig. 12). He
(fig. 10). >I1 polso balza;<< >I1 polso e sinto-
matico<<5. The surgeon Tarquino, identifiedslouches
by in a chair and awaits an arousing tickle
from an attractive young lady, who cautions the
the knife he holds, responds: >>Sangue, sangue.<<
These imposters, who unsuccessfully treat viewer to be quiet so as not to disturb the sleeping
man. The meaning of the scene can be understood
Rosaura, are distinguished from her loving father,
Pantalone, who asks Dr. Onesti for his verdict.
semantically. The Tickle may represent an inno-
His ironic reply is: >>Che bisogno avete di me,
centsediversion, but it signifies sexual arousal, titi-
lare meaning not only >>to tickle<< but also >to titi-
vostra
True tofiglia e assistita
his name, da later
Onesti tanti clarifies
virtuosi signori?,
Rosaura's
late<<. The coyness of this double-entendre is cap-
malady as love-inspired, thus he is shown with his by the giggling girls and helps to explain the
tured
hand on his chest, indicating that his opinion popularity
is of the tickle theme during the 18th
heartfelt which in goldonian terms means he century60.
is The explanatory verses commissioned
honest"9. The topic of his attention, Rosaura or
the quacks, is indicated with his right hand. 58 Goldoni, La Finta ammalata (III, 15); in Opere, III,
703-704.
The pose of the fainted woman recalls that of the
19 Johann Jakob Engel, Ideen zu einer Mimif, Berlin,
Sick Lady (Venice, Palazzo Rezzonico; fig. 11) by 1785, 314.
Longhi. A doctor takes her pulse, but science 60 will
For Venetian examples, see Domenico Maggiotto,
be frustrated by the emotional origins of her ill- Pastoral Scene (Hamburg, Kunsthalle), Giuseppe
271
272
of a past affair or what? The uncertainty probably lutions, unlike any of the faints described by Gol-
appealed to the Venetians. doni, and therein lies its interest. As an equivocal
Intrigue added vitality to the politically unpro- image, it could become a conversation piece (in
ductive lives of the nobility and relieved any threat the modern sense) with the viewers providing dif-
of boredom. Social pleasures constituted an im- ferent scenarios. The Faint could stimulate dis-
portant communal reality, hence patricians shared plays of wit and ingenuity as patricians propound-
a heightened sensibility to social innuendo. Those ed a variety of more or less plausible interpreta-
gifts of subterfuge that once allowed Venice to be- tions. Each viewer could thus become a humorist,
come one of Europe's most sophisticated diplo- unravelling a different plot, suited to his tempera-
matic and commercial powers were perverted in ment and expectations. Goldoni, in front of The
the 18th century to serve relatively inconsequen- Faint, could have easily discovered a scene from
tial affairs, hence ordinary social situations could one of his plays, or if he wished to further exercise
become charged with a significance, usually amo- his imagination, he could also have invented an
rous. Intrigue enflames the imagination. The rea- entirely new play around the painting. Thus when
lity of suspicion, rumor and gossip is essentially Goldoni invoked Longhi as his muse, some truth
subjective, appealing to unresolved possibilities may have been retained in his conventional figure
but deflated by truth. of speech: ,Longhi, tu che la mia musa sorella
Similarly Longhi's Faint contains multiple reso- chiami...<<
273