Domenico Olivero (1679 - 1755), Petanque

Domenico Olivero (Turin, 1 August 1679 - 13 January 1755)

Petanque

Oil on canvas, 43 x 65 cm

With frame, 54.5 x 76

Expert opinion Prof. Alberto Crispo

The painting depicts farmers playing bowls near a cottage, while one of them offers sweets to a little girl. The canvas, in my opinion, can be traced back to the hand of Pietro Domenico Olivero (Turin, August 1, 1679 - January 13, 1755), as revealed by comparisons with other works of the artist, such as the Festa di contadini already at the Galleria Gilberto Zabert in Turin, where we find a completely similar layout, with the Assiepate figures near the building, placed on the left, and some pieces of furniture stacked on the right, including a copper pot almost identical to the one outlined in our painting. But see also other similar subjects painted by the artist from Turin, such as the game of bowls already at the Galleria Cantore in Modena or the other version on the Genoese market in 2019, which, although radically different in terms of composition, confirm the painter’s interest in playful themes and manifest the same ways in outlining the characters, with synthetic and robust brushstrokes. The artist was born in Turin, in the parish of San Tommaso, on 1 August 1679 by Giovanna and Francesco, a woodcarver. He trained at the workshop of the painter and architect Melchiorre Baldassarre Bianco. He was appreciated by Vittorio Amedeo II of Savoy, who commissioned him paintings for the Venaria Reale (1714), for the Royal Palace of Turin (1716) and for the castle of Rivoli (1724)In addition to his ministers Pietro Mellarède and Carlo Vincenzo Ferrero di Roasio, marquis d'Ormea, whose collections included many works by the painter. His success on the Turin art scene earned him the election as prior of the Academy of San Luca in Turin (1726). In 1731 he painted the eleven paintings with Stories of Franciscan saints in the sacristy of the church of San Tommaso in Turin, while in 1734 he made the Wedding of Cana for the sanctuary of Oropa. The Savoy commissions continued with the ten paintings made for the castle of Agliè (1737), the decoration of the third chamber of the New Archives in the Royal Palace of Turin (1739-41) and thirty works for the hunting lodge of Stupinigi (1748-51). The painter also measured in the design of sets for the Teatro Regio in Turin (1745-46).  He made a will on 15 November 1754 and died in his hometown on 13 January 1755. The genre scenes of Olivero, such as the one here commented, reveal the attention to Flemish painting, in particular David Teniers the Younger, Peter Mauritz Bolckman, Theodor Helmbreker and Cornelis de Wael, as well as to Roman bamboccianti, such as Pieter van Laer, Michelangelo Cerquozzi and Jan Miel. His students were Angela Maria Pittetti and Giovanni Michele Graneri.