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Pietro Longhi and Carlo Goldoni: Relations between Painting and Theater

Author(s): Philip L. Sohm


Source: Zeitschrift für Kunstgeschichte , 1982, 45. Bd., H. 3 (1982), pp. 256-273
Published by: Deutscher Kunstverlag GmbH Munchen Berlin

Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/1482159

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Philip L. Sohm

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,

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1. Pietro Longhi, The Love Potion. Venice, Ca' Rezzonico

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ing the appearance of clothing and furniture to subtly (weakly, some may say) that any intended
have convinced these historians of their reality. meaning is muted beyond recognition. Truly
Yet even if each scene, considered individually, Longhi's ineffectual world, mired in ambiguity,
were an accurate representation of contemporary reflects his times. Its content is so topical that once
life - a supposition that will be critically examined the ephemeral attitudes embodied in taste and
later - this in itself would not mean that Longhi fashion had passed, the points of reference in his
approached his material with the neutrality of a works were obscured.
reporter. In fact he did exercise editorial control in The theater of Carlo Goldoni (1707 - 1793), the
the selection of subject matter. Missing from his Moliere of Venice, can help to restore the social
world is the ceremonial Republic of the Regatto, and cultural contexts of Longhi's work. Ever
the Sposalizio and other mass entertainments that since his first mature comedies were produced by
had been recorded by Guardi, Canaletto, Carle- the Medebac company in 1748, Goldoni analyzed
varis and others. Instead he captures Venice as a Venetian social customs with the precision so ob-
pleasure city, the site for hopeful seductions, re- viously missing in Longhi.
laxing stimulations at coffee houses or the pro- In his repertory of flatterers, gossips, liars, pan-
mising uncertainty of gambling (fig. 1). In this derers, swindlers, misers and imposters, the Ve-
respect he conforms to the popular image held by netians recognized themselves, sometimes with
foreign tourists of an amoral city, seductive yet such acuity that slander was imputed, but usually
debauched8. The courtesans under the arcade of with the growing appreciation for themselves that
the Procuratie, the Ridotto and a prolonged Car- led to Goldoni's and Longhi's popularity. Histo-
neval with its intrigue of masks simultaneously rians have often remarked upon a generic similari-
captivated their natural curiosity and aroused an ty between the subjects chosen by the two artists,
acquired moral indignation. Even such a sympa- a comparison initiated by Goldoni himself during
thetic defender of Italian customs as Giuseppe Ba- the 1750s. Goldoni evoked Longhi for inspiration
retti had to admit that >>the Venetians are indeed with the words: >tu che la mia musa sorella chia-
more addicted to sensuality than more northern mi...<< Yet, despite this explicit statement, it has
nations, and love cards rather too passionately<<9. been generally assumed that Longhi was inspired
Most historians of art recognize Longhi as a so- by Goldoni and translated the playwright into his
cial commentator, not pictorial reporter, yet their own idiom and artistic medium"1. This premise
discussions of subject matter have been either de- seems reasonable when artists like Callot, Gillot
scriptive or impressionistic, detached from any and Watteau are recalled, yet it ignores the histori-
analysis of individual works. Such analytic criteria cal fact that Longhi had fully developed his comic
as the symbolic content of fashions and the se- vocabulary at least six years before Goldoni re-
mantic basis of Longhi's humor have not even stored Venetian theater in 174812. I propose to
been mentioned'o. This scholarly neglect is par- shift the perspecitve from Longhi and his intent to
tially justified by the fact that Longhi's subjects Goldoni as a contemporary admirer of Longhi.
often defy definition. He usually painted genre Longhi will be evaluated as Goldoni might have
scenes of inconsequential action, characterised so understood him.

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-

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Goldoni loved paintings by Longhi and his fol- uomini<13. Six years earlier he invoked Longhi as
lower Andrea Past6 because they illustrated a his >comic muse<< for a love story he intended, al-
world sympathetic to his own. In 1756 he de- beit in pretense, to write memorializing the mar-
scribed Longhi as a >singolarissimo imitatore del- riage of Giovanni Grimani and Catterina Con-
la natura, che, ritrovata una originale maniera di tarini:
esprimere in tela i caratteri e le passioni degli Longhi, tu che la mia musa sorella
ly in debauchery and exorbitant licentiousness, may chiami del tuo pennel che cerca il vero
here indeed, if not satiate their desires, at least tire ecco per la tua man, pel mio pensiero
themselves.<< Selected Letters between the Late Du- argomento sublime, idea novella.
chess of Somerset, Lady Luxborough, Miss Dolman, Ritrar tu puoi vergine illustre e bella
...London, 1778, II, 238, letter to Mr. Hull, 25 di dolce viso e portamento altero;
Dec. 1765: AIn short, if a woman has any Mind to be pinger puoi di Giovanni il ciglio arciero
wicked, Venice seems to be the last Place in the che ii dardo scocca alla gentil donzella14

World to give her better Sentiments.,o


9 Baretti, An Account of the Manners and Customs of In his praise for Longhi, Goldoni drew upon a
Italy, London 1768, II, 144. conceptual vocabulary that he had first applied to
10 For the semantic basis, see note 5 and p. 256 below. his own art. He formulated his dramatic theory
The symbolism of fashion is difficult to analyze, al-
into complete and coherent form in 1750 when he
though sources do exist, such as the popular hair-
dressing manual by Le Gros, Enciclopedia di petti- wrote the preface for the first collection of his co-
narsi (Venice, 1769) which labels the different wig medies: >I1 primo (the >book of the world<<) mi
styles with such character attributes as >a l'Incon- mostra tanti e poi tanti vari caratteri di persone,
stance, a la Jalousie, a la Prudence, " le Ravir. < When
Gozzi saw a portrait of an innkeeper by Alessandro 252: >son oeuvre semble une illustration vivantes des
Longhi, he commented that he was dressed >con comedies de Goldoni<<; Perocco and Salvadori, Ci-
gentilezza, perche imita una natura gentile.<< (Gaz- vilta di Venezia, III, 1092-1093, 1096. The only
zetta veneta, n. LV, 13 Aug. 1760) In Goldoni's La scholar to have systematically applied any form of
Locandiera, an impoverished nobleman carries comparative analysis to individual paintings and
about a sheathed sword broken at the hilt. This sym- plays by Longhi and Goldoni was Roberto Longhi
bolic castration illustrates a favorite satiric theme for (in Teatro e Immagini del Settecento Italiano, Turin,
Goldoni, the impotence of noble protection. By the 1954, 70-82). Many problems exist with his
mid-18th century swords were not worn as a part of interpretations. For example, he identifies Longhi's
one's personal apparel yet he maintained an out- Faint (Washington, National Gallery of Art) as a
moded fashion just as he continued the pretense of scene from Goldoni's La finta ammalata, with Ro-
noble protection. Similarly the boors Canciano and saura, whose condition is described by the title, sur-
Lunardo in I Rusteghi parade their obstinate refusal rounded by her friend Beatrice, her suitor Lelio, a
to adopt new fashions by wearing clothes years out young doctor and her father Pantalone (from left to
of date; see L. Rosato, I1 linguagio dei >Rusteghi< e il right). His reading of the episode is most peculiar.
veneziano >civile< del Goldoni,<< Atti dell' Istituto The doctor is said to be reviving Rosaura, yet he ac-
Veneto di Scienze, Lettere ed Arti, CXIX, 1960-61, tually seems to be protecting her from Pantalone.
299-354. A boor in an inelegant pose and with a spit- And why would she need protection from her own
toon at his feet may be represented by Longhi in his loving father? In fact, can this even be Pantalone? He
so-called Family Group (London, National Gal- does not show his characteristic beard and pot-belly;
lery). rather he is represented as a procurator, an office that
11 Ernesto Masi, Sulla storia del teatro italiano nel seco- the merchant Pantalone could never attain. Finally,
lo XVIII, Florence, 1891, 239ff (still the most im- The Faint, which is convincingly dated to about 1742
portant contribution); Philippe Monnier, Venise au (see Pignatti, Longhi, 116), precedes the first perfor-
XVIIIe Siecle, Paris, 1907, 180: describes Longhi as mance of Lafinta ammalata by nine years.
>l'illustration vivante du theatre de Goldoni<<; A. 12 The Concert (Venice, Accademia) and the Gentle-
Ravi, Longhi, 10 and 23; Fritz Schillmann, Venedig. man's Awakening (Windsor, Royal Collection) are
Geschichte und Kultur, Leipzig-Vienna, 1933, 602; dated 1741 and 1742 respectively. For the chronolo-
Giuseppe de Logu, Pittura Veneziana dal XIV al gy of Goldoni's reform, see G. Ortolani, >Appunti
XVIII secolo, Bergamo, 1958, 153; Eduard Hiittin- per la storia della riforma goldoniana,<< La Riforma
ger, Venezianische Malerei, Ziirich, 1959, 71: de- del Teatro nel Settecento, Venice-Rome, 1962,
scribes Longhi's work as >die malerische Sichtbar- 41-64. Haskell (Patrons and Painters, 323) has ques-
machung der Welt von Goldonis<<; Rodolfo Palluc- tioned whether Goldoni could have ever influenced
chini, La Pittura Veneziana del Settecento, Venice- Longhi, and in fact suggests that >>it may well have
Rome, 1960,179 and 187; A. Chastel, >II Settecento been the painter who inspired the poet. << Norbert Jo-
Veneziano nelle Arti,<< La Civilta Veneziana del Set- nard (La vita a Venezia nel XVIII secolo, Milan,
tecento, Florence, 1960, 225: on Longhi Si tratta di 1967, 251-253) briefly discussed the differences be-
una specie di Molibre della pittura, o piutosto, come tween Longhi and Goldoni, noting that the former
si e spesso notato, di una equivalenza pittorica del depicted ecclesiastics but the latter never did.
Goldoni, plu incisivo e ironico<<; Terislo Pignatti, 13 From the dedicatory letter to Marco Pitteri, prefa-
Pittura in Europa: il Settecento, Milan, 1969, cing II Frappatore; Goldoni, Tutte le Opere, ed. G.
157-158; Pignatti, Longhi, 86; Andrieux, Venise, Ortolani, Milan, 1936, II, 92.

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me li dipinge cosi al naturale, ... mi rappresenta i Innovations for Goldoni were not limited to his
segni, la forza, gli effetti di tutte le umane passio- choice of subject matter but included the creation
ni: mi provvede di avvenimenti curiosi: m'infor- of a new style, appropriate to the reformed con-
ma de' correnti costumi: m'instruisce de' vizi e de' tent. He persistently criticized the style of his pre-
difetti che son piu comuni del nostro secolo e della decessors as inflated bombast: >>Mon style n'etoit
nostra Nazione... I secondo poi, cio6 ii libro del
Teatro, mentre io lo vo maneggiando, mi fa co- pas pour
loit el1gant, .... mais
ramener peu voila
' peu pr&cis6ment ce qu'il fal-
' la raison un public
noscere con quali colori si debban rappresentar accoutume aux hyperboles, aux antitheses et au ri-
sulle Scene i caratteri, le passioni, gli avvenimenti, dicule du gigantesque et du romanesque<<22. In his
che nel libro del Mondo si leggono; come si debba Teatro Comico of 1753, Goldoni provides exam-
ombreggiarli per dar loro il maggiore relievo, e ples of the >>stile antico, pieno d'antitesi e di
quali sien quelle tinte, che piui li rendon grati agli traslati<<23
occhi dilicati degli spettatori<<5. Placida: Signor Lelio, ancora qui?
In this important artistic manifesto, Goldoni de- Lelio: Si, mia Signora; qual invaghita farfalla, me vo
fined those fundamental themes that formed the raggirando intorno al lume delle vostre pupil-
le.
basis for his later theory and his appreciation for Placida: Signore, se voi seguiterete questo stile, vi fare-
Longhi. His self-appraisal was accepted by most te ridicolo...<<
contemporary writers including Voltaire, whose
14 ))Del Sig. Dottor Carlo Goldoni fra gli Arcadi Polis-
epithet of Goldoni as >>Pittore e Figlio della Na- seno Fegejo al Signor Pietro Longhi Veneziano Ce-
tura<< was widely publicized'6. For Goldoni, na- lebre Pittore, < in Componimenti Poeticiper lefelicis-
turalism was not limited to a faithful reproduction sime Nozze di Sue Eccellenze il Signor Giovanni Gri-
of sensory phenomena, as that term in art theory mani e la Signora Catterina Contarini, Venice, 1750,
77; reprinted in Goldoni, Opere, XIII, 187-188.
would suggest, but served as the basis for a psy- 15 Goldoni, Opere, I, 769-770. For a thorough discus-
chological naturalism7. The >>caratteri e le passio- sion of this passage, see Mario Baratto, Tre studi sul
ni<< that he appreciated in the work of Longhi cor- teatro (Ruzante-Aretino-Goldoni), Vicenza, 1964.
responded to his intense interest in man's psyche. 16 Voltaire, Oeuvres Comrpltes, Banbury, 1972 CVI,
146-147, 24 Sept. 1760; for its publicity, see Antonio
Love, in the form of passing infatuations, sexual Zardo, Teatro Veneziano del Settecento, Bologna,
desires and petty jealousies, generated the drama- 1925, 69-72. Not mentioned is an anonymous re-
tic action more often than any other motive. view in La Minerva, o sia nuova giornale de' letterati
d'Italia, Venice, 1764, IX, 99-111. For Goldoni's
>>Rien ne m'int&resse davantage que l'analyse du
appreciative response to Voltaire, see his dedicatory
coeur humain, << wrote Goldoni in his Memoires,18 letter and preface of Pamela maritata. Voltaire's
and accordingly he called upon Longhi to inspire judgement was not universally accepted. Some cri-
him when he wanted to record the Grimani-Con- tics, led by Pietro Chiari in the sarcastic Scuola delle
tarini romance. Vedove of 1749, qhuestioned the accuracy, or even
When Goldoni observed that Longhi >>ritrovata while the plausibility of his translation of life onto stage,
others, led by Gasparo Gozzi's brother Carlo,
una originale maniera<< and when he invited Lon- wondered whether ordinary lives should even be
ghi to join with him to treat an >>idea novella<< (my shown on stage. For a short historiography, see G.
emphases), he must also have been thinking of his Ortolani, >>La fortuna di Carlo Goldoni,<< La Rifor-
ma del Teatro nel Settecento, Venice-Rome, 1962,
own historical position as a reformer of drama 101-116. For modern evaluations of Goldoni's na-
who bravely condemned those >>adoratori d'ogni turalism, see F. Fido, >>La poetica del gioco fra vrai-
antichita che amano tutto all'antica, ed odiano le semblance e verit, << Guida a Goldoni. Teatro e socie-
novit<<19. Longhi's inabilities excluded him from ta del Settecento, Turin, 1977, 89-101 (with biblio-
graphy).
the prestigious field of history and religious pain-
17 V. Pandolfi, >>Natura e Confini della Riforma Gol-
ting. Goldoni rejected the traditions of classical doniana,<< Paragone, 104, 1958, 21-32; Ettore Cac-
tragedy, the Commedia dell' Arte and all their hy- cia, Carattere e Caratteri nella Commedia del Gol-
brid combinations in opera. Both artists turned to doni, Venice, 1959, 15-33; Kurt Ringger, Ambienti
ed Intrecci nelle Commedie di Carlo Goldoni, Bern,
French and central Italian sources for inspiration.
1965, 16-19; Wolfgang Theile, Goldoni, Darmstadt,
Longhi studied with Crespi in Bologna and co- 1977, 20-31; Fido, Guida a Goldoni, 5-47; W. Thei-
pied figures from Lancret and Chardin20. Goldoni le, >>Struttura della Commedia e senso del reale nel
adapted Molibre to the Venetian stage, possibly teatro di Goldoni,<< Studi Goldoniani, ed. N. Mangi-
ni, Venice, 1979, V.
after seeing performances of plays by the Floren-
18 Goldoni, Memoires, pt. 1, chap. 18, p. 81;in Opere,
tines Girolamo Gigli (1660- 1722) and Jacopo I, 81. See also the preface to vol. IX of the Pasquali
Angelo Nelli (1673 - 1767) who had preceded him edition (in Opere, I, 661).
in using Molibre21. 19 Goldoni, Opere, I, 770-771. Goldoni's self-assess-

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2. Pietro Longhi, The Painter's Studio. Venice, Ca' Rezzonico

In I Due Gemelli Veneziani Goldoni identified


continuing his speech in a similar vein, Tonino
realizes just how contagious the baroque style is:
the pompous style of metaphor with deceit. Lelio
of seduction is copied from Lancret's Old Age (Lon-
says to himself: ,Ecco qui il mio fortunato rivale.
Voglio vedere se colla dolcezza del mio pregare
don, National Gallery) and the laundress is adapted
posso vincer l'amarezza del suo negare... (to To- from Chardin's Laundress (Stockholm, National-
museum). The Lancret was painted shortly before
nino, his rival) M'inchino all'elevato, anzi altissi-
1735, and engraved soon thereafter (see Martin Da-
mo invidiabil merito del piil celebre eroe dell'a-vies, French School, National Gallery, London,
driatico cielo. << Tonino answers in a similar mode,
1957, 127-128). The Chardin was engraved in 1737
(see P. Rosenberg, Chardin, Grand Palais, Paris,
but his hyperbole is truthful: ,Servitor strepito-1979, n. 56, 198-200). For the artistic contact be-
sissimo della sua altitonante grandezza.<< After
tween France and Venice in general, see R. Palluc-
ment as an isolated innovator was somewhat exagge-chini, >Venise et l'Europe continentale au XVIIIeme
rated. For his relation to the Commedia dell' Arte, sicle,<< Venezia e l'Europa, Venice, 1956; N.
especially his adoption of Commedia characters into Ivanoff, >I Pittori Francesi a Venezia nel Settecen-
his theater, see Olga Marchini-Capasso, Goldoni e lato,<< Sensibilita e Razionalita nel Settecento, ed. V.
Commedia dell' Arte, Naples, 1912; Jaroslav Pokor-Branca, Florence, 1957, II, 567-581.
ny, Goldoni und das venezianische Theater, Berlin,
1968, 77-102. 21Charakteristik
E. Merian-Genast, ,Die Technik
bei Moliere der komischen
und Goldoni,<< Romani-
20 In 1767 Goldoni appended a note to a poem written sche Forschungen, LXIV, 1952, 114-139; Ulrich,
in 1761 for the marriage of Pietro Bonfandini and
Orsetta Giovanelli in which he associated Longhi's,Goldonis
pe,< ,Locandiera< und Molieres
zwei Motiventwicklungen,<< >Misanthro-
Romanische For-
schungen, LXX, 1958, 323-365; W. Theile, >Goldo-
,genere di
Mariette pittura< toIII,
(Abecedario, Greuze: Opere,
221) wrote XIII,
that 316.ni und Moliere. Zur Verwirklichung einer dramati-
Longhi
>devint un autre Wateau.<< Although a French influ- schen Poetik,<< Beitraige zur Vergleichenden Litera-
ence on Longhi has been frequently observed (for turgeschichte. Festschrift fiir Kurt Wais, Tiibingen,
past opinion, see Pignatti, Longhi, 14-20), only two1972, 89-106.
instances of borrowing can be found, both in the 22
Se-Goldoni, Mimoires, pt. I, chap 36; in Opere, I, 163.
23 Goldoni, Teatro Comico (11,2); in Opere, II, 1068.
duction (Milan, Crespi Collection) where the scene

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3. Pietro Longhi, The Faint. Washington, D. C., National Gallery of Art, Kress Collection

>>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.

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4. Pietro Longhi, The Faint, detail. Washington, D. C., National Gallery of Art,
Kress Collection

de, e non si vede quello, che mostrano: molto lu-


as Goldoni cleansed his language of any natural
ce, molta oscurita, uomini e donne che sono, infelicities,
e so Longhi also idealised form with his
non sono<<28. The semiotic content of antithesesdelicate pastels and simplified physiognomy. In
and hyperbole - two devices most ridiculed by the Painter's Studio (Venice, Palazzo Rezzonico;
Goldoni - have pictorial equivalents. Chiaroscuro
fig. 2), the nose of the sitter has been made more
and contraposto, in their extreme forms, are con- slender in the portrait; the mouth is more grace-
trasts of opposites, that is, visual antitheses29. Ex-
fully shaped by curving the lips gradually and sup-
aggerated gestures, violent movements and sharp pressing the indented sides. The result is a remark-
foreshortenings can be considered hyperbolic, if able transformation of an ugly, puckered mouth
the genteel restraint of Longhi's style is accepted into a sweet smile.
as normative. Of course, all standards are relative.Goldoni and Longhi shared another limit in their
Seicento painting would appear baroque in com-pursuits of naturalism. Goldoni's psychological
parison with Tiepolo. Vincenzo da Canal in his realism could be so convincing that the audience
Vita di Gregorio Lazzarini of 1732 criticized theoften identified the characters with people they
17th century painters Antonio Zanchi and Pietroknew. >>Questa Commedia (La Bottega del Caffe)
della Vecchia for being >>stravagante<< and >>per loha caratteri tanto universali, che in ogni luogo ove
pii del tetro con il gagliardo((30. 28 Gozzi, L'Osservatore, Venice, 1768, VIII, 52 (,L'a-
Although Goldoni disavowed many artificial bitazione d'un filosofo creduto pazzo<<); noted in
Haskell, Patrons and Painters, 323-324.
mannerisms of earlier styles, he nonetheless main- 29 D. Summers, >Contraposto: Style and Meaning in
tained that art should adjust nature by removing Renaissance Art,<< Art Bulletin, LIX, 1977, 336-361.
>>gesti scorretti, scene lubriche di mal esempio<< so30 Vita di Gregorio Lazzarini scritta da Vincenzo da
Canal, pubblicata per la prima volta nelle nozze Da
that they do not offend the >>occhi dilicati<< of the
Mula-Lavagnoli, ed. G. A. Moschini, Venice, 1809,
audience31. Sensuality may motivate many scenes 20.
by Goldoni and Longhi, but it is never crudely 31 Goldoni, Teatro comico (III, 3); in Opere, II, 1093.
portrayed. For Longhi, only a glance or a discreet In the preface to Il Prodigo, published for the first
gesture is needed. The unmade bed in the Gentle- time in 1757, Goldoni condemned the use of 4la
scurriliti, l'immodestia<< (In Opere, I, 861). In the
man's Awakening (Windsor, Royal Collection) is preface to Il Servatore di Due Padroni, he critizes
suggestive, but no more explicit action accompa-
nies it than drinking coffee or hot chocolate. Just (in,tutte quelle
Opere, II,improprieth
7). grossolane<< in the theater

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mies would argue against the intent to portray.
Certainly it confuses any attempt at identifica-
tion.

It can be concluded that Goldoni appreci


Longhi for those qualities he most admired i
own art. In Longhi he saw an innovator like
self, challenging an abstruse tradition with c
mon sense. Like many reductive minds, he
uneasy with his own isolation from the m
stream, and so he responded warmly to Lon
work as a reassuring confirmation of his own
fortunately his summary comments only ind
the favorable inclination of his thoughts, but
no idea what particular >caratteri e le passion
gli uomini<< he saw in Longhi. Were they reall
same as >i caratteri, le passioni, gli avvenime
that Goldoni so precisely rendered on stage?

32 Goldoni, La Bottega del Cafft, preface; in Op


III, 5.
Goldoni, Memoires, pt. II, chap 7; in Opere, I,
14 Goldoni, Teatro comico (III, 9); in Opere, II, 1
Lelio (the old-fashioned poet): >>Sapete cosa pi
sempre sul teatro?<< Orazio (Goldoni's spokesm
>>E che cosa?< Lelio: >>La critica.<< Orazio: >>Basta
5. Pietro Longhi, Coffee House. Engraving by sia moderata; che prenda di mira l'universale, e n
P. Wagner after the lost original; ex. Collection of particolare; il vizio, e non il vizioso; che sia mera
Cecilia Emo Morosini delle Sbarre tica, e non inclina alla satira.<<
3 Longhi, Compendio, n. p.; A. Orlandi, Abeced
pittorico, Venice, 1753, 427: Longhi painted >>co
fu ella rappresentata, credevasi fatta sul conio de- colorito ed evidenza che a prima vista riconoscon
gli originali riconosciuti<<32. When Le Femmine persone ed i luoghi rappresentati.<<
Puntigliose was performed in Mantua, Verona and 16 John Moore, A View of Society and Manners in
(1780), published in his Works, Edinburgh, 1820
Florence, the audience in each city thought it was 101.
intended to slander a different lady33. Personal37 The Faint (Washington Gallery of Art; 49 x 61
lampoons were not unknown on the Venetian For a complete discussion of provenance and da
stage, but Goldoni intended to satirize character (c. 1742), see Fern Rusk Shapley, Paintings from
Samuel H. Kress Collection. Italian Schools, X
types and social conventions, not individuals34.
XVIII Century, London, 1973, 136-137. The G
Similarly Longhi's figures were taken for por- of Pentola (Washington, National Gallery) share
traits: >Dilatossi poi con Mascherate, cosi al vero provenance, measurements and dating with
espresse nei loro naturali andamenti, che sono Faint, but it cannot be concluded that a one-to-
conosciute anco sotto la Maschera, o wrote his son relationship between the two pictures was inten
Longhi's paintings were collected serially (see th
Alessandro35. Such speculation must have been now in New York, Metropolitan Museum; Ven
reflexive for Venetians living a charmed life of in- Palazzo Rezzonico; Venice, Galleria Querini),
trigue. The bautta was an ambiguous disguise, ef- since figures or situations are not continued or de
fective in concealing one's identity from stran- oped within the >>series<, they cannot elicit a re
ential density comparable to Goldoni's concaten
gers, but as Casanova learned, it could not deceive series of scenes which grow progressively riche
the inquisitive eyes of friends or acquaintances. establishing an associative past. The Pentola re
John Moore described a masked Venetian noble- sents a children's game played by young adults,
man >>who, with an air of mystery, was con- a blindfolded man trying to break open an o
turned cooking pot (pentola) in order to win
ducting a female mask into his cassino. My ac- prize underneath. As a variant of blindman's bu
quaintance knew him perfectly well, and assured which Longhi also represented in its conventi
me, he was the most innoncent creature with form (Windsor, Royal Collection), it probably
women...<<36 The typical is always susceptible of fers to the cliche that love blinds man (Goldoni
vedova scaltra, II, 1). The exact meaning of th
transformation into the specific, especially by a tion is unclear. A man seated at the left stares with
Venetian mind trained in conspiracies, but Lon- the same strange intensity that a peasant in Longhi's
ghi's limited repertory of indistinct physiogno- Polenta (fig. 14) stares at the mound of dough. Pen-

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6. Giuseppe De Gobbis, The Ridotto. San Diego, Museum of Art

A Case Study: The Faint37


A woman faints while playing cards with some and dream of its unattainable results, while two
friends (fig. 3). They cluster around her, offering bautte seem to have no need of it (or have they al-
smelling salts and a pillow. A man touches her arm ready had some?). Patrons who engaged in this
gently, protectively, and glares at a nobleman form of ritualized trickery expected to be duped.
who, detached from this intimate group, intrudes Both parties were as aware of the fraud as those
gesticulating solemnly. But has she really fainted? maskers who pretended daily anonymity.
Her limp pose suggests unconscious abandon, yet Gasparo Gozzi, in a fanciful reconstruction of
her eyes are open just enough so that she can roll Longhi's iconography, established duplicity as his
them back and to her right (fig. 4). Her mind is favorite theme. In 1760 Gozzi invented thirteen
alert and searching for clues unknown to us, but word-pictures in the style of Longhi, ostensibly as
she maintains a helpless pose. This is deceit, but substitutes for the real thing which he could not
what kind? afford because of the high prices: >>Io non sono ne
Venice, with its spies and extended carnival, Pittore, ne ricco uomo da potere provvedermi
thrived on deception. The French ambassador Jo- dell'opere di questo valente Maestro; sicche non
achim de Pierre de Bernis equipped his casino in havendo ne danari da spendere, ne attivita per ad-
Venice with a secret chamber that allowed him to operare i colori, ho pensato un nuovo modo da
spy on his lover, the nun N. N., while she made guernire un picciolo stanzino, come posso. Ho un
love with other men3". Masks allowed a more
harmless variety of voyeurism. Longhi loved to
paint masked figures at the Ridotto, in coffee hou- tola and polenta are anagrammatically associated,
and they are similarly shaped, but their contextual
ses and in the Piazza. There they would some- meaning in Longhi is uncertain.
times watch charlatans on their palchi. Women 38 Jacques Casanova, Histoire de ma Vie, ed. F. A.
gaze hopefully at a vendor of love potions (fig. 1) Brockhaus, Paris, 1960, IV, 104.

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7. Pietro Longhi, The Temptation. Hartford, Conn., Wadsworth
Atheneum Museum

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.

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id

. ........

.f:
,.

. . . ..

.. . .... . ? . . , . .
,.+ ,.~r
hi .. .. ?; iJ
+,++. ~ ~ .r r? a" f .+.rjm, ,

?11, 7, 1 2 c

8. Pietro Antonio Novelli, La Scozese.9. Carl Gol- Novelli, La Finta Ammalata.


Pietro Antonio
Carlo XIII,
doni, Commedie, Venice: Pasquali, 1761, Goldoni,
211 Commedie, Venice: Pasquali,
1761, VI, 95

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,

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Other Goldoni heroines, such as Rosaura in II Smerlandina, a character from the Commedia
Bugiardo and Madame Dalancour in Le Bourru dell'Arte who provoked the most desperate att-
bienfaisant, suffer from genuine faints, usually empts at seduction. The nobleman's blatant stare
prompted by some kind of heart-break44. This po- reappears in Geography Lesson (Venice, Pa-
ses a fundamental problem of interpretation for
The Faint by Longhi. Has Longhi's heroine faint- 1879, 248). In Diderot's Jacques le Fataliste (Oeuv-
res completes, ed. J. Ass6zat, Paris, 1875, VI,
ed involuntarily from emotional distress, like 215-216), Jacques pretends virginitiy as a ploy to be
Eugenia in Gl'Innamorati who swoons when she seduced by two women, one of whom ?faints<< thus
thinks that Fulgenzio no longer loves her?45 Or exposing her breasts to the false innocent.
has she fainted purposefully in order to manipu- 44 Goldon, II bugiardo (II, 3); in Opere, III, 118-119;
Le bourru bienfaisant (III, 8); in Opere, VIII,
late a man's love, like Elisa in Don Giovanni 1068-1069.
Tenorio?46 How can deception, which juxtaposes 45 Goldoni, GI' Innamorati (III, 12); in Opere, VII,
411-412.
appearance and reality, be detected in a medium
that must communicate exclusively by visible 46 Goldoni, Don Giovanni Tenorio (II, 7-8); in Opere,
IX, 240.
signs? In The Faint it is the disparity between the 47 Pietro Gradenigo, Notatori e Annuali, 3 Sept. 1760;
woman's helpless state and her calculating glance published in L. Livian, Notizie d'Arte... del Pietro
that establishes a deceitful intent, at least after the Gradenigo, Venice, 1942, 62.
fact. But this does not tell the whole story. Why 48 Goldoni, II Burchiello,<< in Opere, XIII, 316. In
has she fainted? What is her relation to the noble- this passage, Goldoni was discussing Andrea Past6,
?buon pittore specialmente in piccole figure alla ma-
man?
niera del celebre Pietro Longhl,< For PastS, see A.
Pietro Gradenigo: >Pittore per attitudini na- Mariuz, >La Villeggiatura di Bagnoli e il Pittore An-
turali, e parlanti caricature, egli 6 il Sig.r Pietro drea PastS,<< Arte Veneta, XXX, 1976, 197-199.
49 For a short discussion on gesture in Goldoni, see
Longhil47. Goldoni: >Le so figure le xe la par- Ringger, Ambienti, 56-69. Whereas the content of
lanti<<48. Goldoni probably looked at Longhi's gesture probably coincided, the syntax did not.
painting as a static mime, in which figures >spoke<< Longhi's paintings are small, intimate views intend-
by means of gesture, hence to understand the co- ed to be studied at close range, hence his figures
could adopt restrained and discreet poses and still be
mic characterisations that he and Gozzi apprecia- easily legible, whereas actors on stage must adopt
ted, the meaning of gesture must be deciphered. more emphatic gestures so that they carry across the
Since Longhi and Goldoni based their respective theater. Goldoni was certainly aware of the effects of
arts on current social behavior, it may be assumed distance on gesture: >Nella scelta delle azioni,
... conviene avere un riguardo alla qualiti del Te-
that their gestural vocabulary shared a common- atro, cio6 alla sua grandezza. In un Teatro picciolo
ality whose mutual source was contemporary riescono bene alcune azioni leggere, familiari, o criti-
usage. Both used eyes for similar expressive pur- che ma in un Teatro grande colpiscono difficilmente,
poses, usually in seductions. Goldoni often intro- e conviene scegliere azioni grandiose, strepitose,
massiccie. c (La Donna di Testa Debole, preface; in
duced the roving eye that propositions. In the Opere, V, 108). The effect of scale had quite the op-
Grimani-Contarini poem quoted above, he in- posite result when it came to the relation of picture-
vited Longhi to >>pinger puoi di Giovanni il ciglio play to viewer-audience. Whereas Longhi often had
arciero che il dardo scocca alla gentil donzella.<< In figures face outwards, addressing themselves to the
viewer, Goldoni forbade his actors this device (Te-
Il Bugiardo Lelio lies to his father that Rosaura atro comico, II, 3; in Opere, 1073). For Goldoni
had seduced him with her eyes: ?I miei occhi si the audience was a mass eavesdropper that was un-
sono incontrati nei suoi. Io credo che in quei due necessary to the action evolving independently,
occhi abbia due diavoli, mi ha rovinato subito, e that is, naturally on stage. Painting, being further re-
non vi e stato rimedio<<l5. When a masked Rosaura moved from reality, needed more devices to draw
the viewer into a fictive world; hence narrating
in La Vedova Scaltra >>con qualche caricatura, festaiuoli or beseeching intermediaries have a long
pictorial tradition.
guardando vezzosamente il Conte senza parlare,,<<
it is reminiscent of Longhi's scenes with 50 Goldoni, II Bugiardo (III, 5); in Opere, III, 147.
51 Goldoni, La Vedova Scaltra (III, 19); in Opere, II,
dominoes51. In the Coffee House (fig. 5), the ero- 400.
tic consequences of drinking coffee are illustra- 52 For coffee as an aphrodisiac, see the verse appended
ted by a man in bautta pinching the skirt of to Longhi's Coffee House as published by Wagner:
a woman, a standard gesture of proposition, >Quelli che ameno al caldo bere alletta,/ e al bel pia-
cer delle grand'alme serve,/ Sappia, che Amor entro
and exchanging glances52. In the Ridotto (San
al liquor, che ferve,/ Tempra souente la mortal saet-
Diego, Fine Arts Gallery; fig. 6), where the ta. << For a similar proposition in a coffee house, see
fortunes of love and gambling coincide, a noble- the engraving by G. Volpato after Francesco Mag-
man stares lustfully at a woman disguised as giotto. For the grasp, see Longhi's Perfume Seller

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10. Pietro Longhi, The Sick Lady Venice, Ca' Rezzonico

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.

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11. Pietro Longhi, The Tickle. Castagnola, Thyssen-Bornemisza
Collection

dy by Goldoni to which it served as antiporto55.liation with Milord Murrai, by dropping his


Since they were commissioned by Goldoni'ssword, placing hand to heart and stretching out
friend Giambattista Pasquali as illustrations for a
For Novelli, see In Morte del Signor Pietro Antonio
>natural<< theater, it seems probable that they Novelli Celebre Pittore e Poeta Chiamato in Arcadia
faithfully represent stage practice, including the Arristeno Parrasideo Visione di Giuseppe Avelloni,
use of gestures56. In La Scozzese, Lindana has fal- Venice, 1804 (still the most complete biography); A.
len in love with Milord Murrai, who just happens Arban, >Aggiunte alla grafica di Pier Antonio No-
velli,<< Bollettino dei Musei Civici Veneziani, 1970,
to be her father's nemesis, responsible for his con- 1-17; A. Arban, >>L'attivith padovana di Pier Anto-
demnation to death and consequent flight to nio Novelli,<< Arte Veneta, XXIV, 1970, 185-198.
America. Unknown to Lindana, Conte di Ster-56 Goldoni wrote with approval that Novelli's engra-
lingh, her father, has returned to London after six vings >> recederanno le res ettive O ere istoriando-
ne nela miglior forma iiprincipale argomento.*
years in exile. Act 5, scene 4 opens with the Conte (Goldoni, Opere, XIV, 471) For Goldoni's sceno-
and Milord dueling with swords. Lindana enters graphy in general, see R. Longhi, >Un possibile sce-
in fear that her lover's life is in danger: nografo per il Goldoni,<< Studi Goldoniani, ed. V.
Branca and N. Mangini, Venice, 1957, II, 755-759;
,Lindana: Ah! Milord, chi v'insulta, chi vi assalisce? E. Bassi, *Le illustrazioni delle commedie goldonia-
ah mio padre! (si getta ai piedi del Conte). ne ed il loro ambiente culturale,<< Studi Goldoniani,
Conte: Ah mia Figlia! (si lascia cader la spada ed ab- ed. N. Mangini, Venice, 1973, III, 115-124; R. Ale-
braccia Lindana)57. wyn, >>Goldonis Theater,<< Probleme und Gestalte,
Novelli has illustrated this moment of recognition Frankfurt, 1974, 47f; F. Mancini, M. T. Muraro, E.
Povoledo, Illusione e Pratica Teatrale, Vicenza,
when paternal love overcomes a political and fa- 1975, 118-123.
milial feud (fig. 9). Conte di Sterlingh evinces thiss7 Goldoni, La Scozzese (V, 4); in Opere, VII,
dramatic conversion, which leads to his reconci- 1280-1281.

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12. Pietro Longhi, Milord's Visitor. New York, Metropolitan
Museum

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

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by Wagner for the engraving after Longhi allude ding on the context or perception of nuance66.
to the obvious linguistic play (>>Juvat Somno, Ju- Thus, even if our gestural illiteracy could be com-
vat Indulgere Sopori<<), and expanding upon the pletely corrected, the action of The Faint would
sense of this introductory line: probably remain ambiguous. Indeed it seems that
Longhi intentionally introduced ambivalent ges-
>>Vaghe fanciulle che turbando andate
tures designed to incite our curiosity. In the
Con ischerzo gentil l'altrui riposo.
Quanto predice al corfuoco amoroso Dance Lesson (Venice, Accademia), the dance
Quella nascente in voi rara beltate. < master points instructively to his pupil's right
foot, but simultaneously at her groin. In Milord's
The man may not be just a passive recipient of the Visitor (New York, Metropolitan Museum; fig.
ladies' attention; rather he could have encouraged 13) a servant introduces a young woman also by
their game by feigning sleep. Like the fainted wo- indicating her groin. A girl in the Polenta (Venice,
man, the state of sleep is not entirely convincing Palazzo Rezzonico; fig. 14) points both to her
since he is in fact peeking at one lady through his breast and her friend. One of her male com-
left eye. This flirtatious ruse recalls one described panions ignores this invitation, enhanced by the
by Giovanni Bonifacio in a virtually unknown rod held in her other hand, and instead lavishes
treatise on gesture, L'Arte de' Cenni (Vicenza, attention on a suggestively shaped mound of po-
1616), in which Mecenate tried to seduce the wife lenta dough, but then he is not the object of her
of Galba by feigning sleep with eyes slightly gaze - the viewer is. Individually these and similar
opened61. examples may be ambiguous by virtue of their dis-
It may be assumed that deception and love also cretion, but when the syntax and context are
underlie the action of The Faint, after all Longhi maintained throughout a series of paintings, a libi-
was best known for >>ischerzi d'amore<<62. As the dinous intent must be suspected. As the initial in-
Cavaliere di Ripafratta in La Locandiera remarks: nocence of these digital gestures dissolves into
>>E poi quello svenimento vero o finto che fosse, suggestive alternatives, the viewer is left poised
non e segno manifesto d'amore?<< Yet love need between a presumption of innocence and the
not be the immediate cause for fainting. Andrea suspicion of lewdity. The uncertainty provokes a
Perrucci, in his treatise Dell'Arte Rappresentativa giggle. Whereas a general comic intent can be dis-
of 1699, wrote that when the hand is brought cerned in these poignant gestures, whose humor
limply to the chest of a supine person, it is a lies in their unanticipated implications, their spe-
gesture of shame63. Has the nobleman brought cific content is impossible to prove and even to in-
news that has deeply embarrassed her ? If the noble- tuite. For example, is the servant in Milord's Visi-
man in Longhi's Faint is as honest or loving as tor (fig. 13) indicating the young woman's sexual
Onesti or Conte di Sterlingh, then why does the availability or perhaps the growing consequences
young man try to protect the fainted woman?
Does she deserve protection? Although she pro- Angeli, The Tickle (formerly Berlin, antiquarian; il-
longs her swoon in order to recollect herself and lustrated in R. Pallucchini, >>La Pittura Veneta del
assess the situation, this does not mean that she Settecento alla Mostra Itinerante di Chicago-Min-
has a dishonest character. She is a clever woman neapolis-Toledo,< Arte Veneta, XXIV, 1970, 292);
Pietro Rotari, The Tickle (Munich, Bayerische
certainly, using her incapacity for manipulative
Staatsgem~ildesammlungen, Alte Pinakothek).
purposes, but her action could be generated by 61 Giovanni Bonifacio, L'Arte de' Cenni con la qvalle
love and thus be justifiable. Who might she love: formandosifavella visibile, Vicenza, 1616, 111.
the man behind her who attracts her surreptitious 62 A. Longhi, Compendio, n. p.
63 A. Perrucci, Del!' Arte Rappresentativa Premeditata
glance or her defender? Even if one understands ed all' Improvviso (Naples, 1699), ed. A. G. Braga-
the gestural vocabulary, its multivalence assures glia, Florence, 1961, 123.
ambiguity. 64 J. B. Dubos, Riflexions critiques, Paris, 1719, III,
According to J. B. Dubos in his R4flexions criti- 16; Engel, Mimif, 231-239.
65 Perrucci, Rappresentativa, 123: ?Quando il perso-
ques of 1719, >>gestes d'institution<< are inherently naggio parla solo seco stesso, o esortandosi o mom-
ambiguous and hence frequently misunder- miserandosi, o riprendendosi si faccia con la mano
stood64. Perrucci noted that a hand placed to one's curva toccandosileggermento con le dite il petto.<<
chest, like the procurator, can be used on a variety See also Engel, Mimif, letter IX.
66 John Spiegal and Pavel Machotka, Messages of the
of occasions65. As most people know from per- Body, N. Y., 1974; Desmond Morris, Peter Collet
sonal experience, gestures rarely have the preci- and Peter Marsh, Gestures: their origins and distri-
sion of words since meanings can overlap depen- bution, N. Y., 1979.

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13. Pietro Longhi, Polenta. Venice, Ca' Rezzonico

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...<<

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