Angelo Biasioli’s aquatint, “Triumph of Bacchus”, c1800, after Bernardino Galliari

Angelo Biasioli (1790–1830)

“Triumph of Bacchus: Curtain of the Royal Theatre of Turin” (aka “Trionfo di Bacco: Sipario del R. Teatro di Torino” [as titled in plate]), c1800, plate 13 after Bernardino Galliari’s (1707–1794) painting, “The Marriage of Bacchus and Ariadne”, c1756, in the Pinacoteca Sabauda, Turin (see https://www.wga.hu/html_m/g/galliari/bernardi/marriage.html), possibly published as part of the series of 75 aquatint plates illustrating Italian theatre designs, “Raccolta di varie Decorazioni Sceniche” (Collection of various scenic decorations) (see https://www.worldcat.org/title/raccolta-di-varie-decorazioni-sceniche/oclc/81189082?referer=di&ht=edition).

Aquatint with etching printed in sepia coloured ink on wove paper with wide margins and the publisher’s(?) dry stamp at lower right. Note that I have been unable to find this stamp in Lugt (2002), nevertheless, there are similarities with Lugt 168 (p. 29) and Lugt 168a (p. 571).

Numbered in plate above the image borderline: (right corner) “13”.

Lettered in plate below the image borderline: (left) “B. Galliari inv. e fece”; (centre) “Trionfo di Bacco/ Sipario del R. Teatro di Torino.”; (right) “A. Biasioli dis. ed inc.”

Size: (sheet) 31.5 x 44.2 cm; (plate) 23.6 x 30.9 cm; (image borderline) 20.3 x 28.4 cm.

During my research into this print, I stumbled upon information that may (or may not) be rivetingly interesting: in 1858, in the centre of Turin, the municipal councillor of the time, Commendatore Giuseppe Moris, presented a commissioned performance relating to this curtain design: “Trionfo di Bacco" (“The Triumph of Bacchus”) as a part of the Carnovale di Torino (see Libreria Antiquaria Bourlot’s 2015, “Catalogo no. 340”, cat. no. 296).

The Fine Arts Museums of San Franscisco and the Lombardy Cultural Heritage offer descriptions of this print; see https://art.famsf.org/angelo-biasioli/trionfo-di-bacco-19633036488 and https://www.lombardiabeniculturali.it/stampe/schede/CM020-00567/.

Condition: a strong and well-printed impression with wide margins. Beyond an ink mark verso (not visible recto) the sheet is in an excellent condition with no tears, holes, folds, abrasions, significant stains, foxing or signs of handling.

I am selling this rare and very beautiful aquatint in near faultless condition showing a theatre curtain design for the opera house (Teatro Regio) in Turin before fire destroyed the original building in 1936, for the total cost of AU$224 (currently US$164.77/EUR152.63/GBP126.55 at the time of this listing) including postage and handling to anywhere in the world, but not (of course) any import duties/taxes imposed by some countries.

If you are interested in purchasing this marvellous aquatint glowing with light, please contact me (oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com) and I will send you a PayPal invoice to make the payment easy.