Francisco Viera Portuense (1765-1805)

Artist Name Francisco Viera Portuense (1765-1805)
Title Leda and the Swan
Description This work illustrates the Greek myth in which Zeus, the king of the gods, seduces Leda after visiting her in the form of a swan. It is a topic that has fascinated artists for centuries. It has been illustrated by da Vinci, Michelangelo and Boucher, as well as writers and poets such as W. B. Yeats.

It is a stunning large oil on canvas in fine condition and dating to circa 1800 and was exhibited in the 1950's in London Gallery in Brook Street. The are also numerous decayed red wax seals verso.
 
Provenance Oxford estate.
London Gallery Brook Street
Desmond Morris
 
Medium Oil on Canvas
Size 49 x 39 inches
Frame Housed in a complementary gallery frame, 56 inches 46 inches and in good condition.
Condition Excellent condition.
Biography Francisco Vieira (Porto, 13 May 1765 – Funchal, 2 May 1805), who choose the artistic name of Viera Portuense, was a Portuguese painter, one of the introducers of Neoclassicism in Portuguese painting. He was, in the neoclassical style, one of the two great Portuguese painters of his generation, with Domingos Sequeira. He first studied in Lisbon, later moving to Rome. He traveled through Italy, Germany, Austria and England, before returning to Portugal, in 1800. He met Swiss painter Angelica Kauffman, from whom he seems to have received influences. He seems to anticipate some motives of the romantic painting in several of his historical paintings, like "Dona Filipa de Vilhena knighting her sons" (1801). He contracted tuberculosis, and moved to Madeira, where he died, aged only 39. He is represented at the National Museum of Ancient Art, in Lisbon, and at the National Museum Soares dos Reis, in Porto.
Price SOLD
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