Francesco Simonini Prints and Multiples

Francesco Simonini, a well-known painter and engraver active in Italy in the first half of the 18th century. Born in Parma, Simonini was trained at the school of Francesco Monti (known as Brescianino delle Battaglie for his battle scenes) under the guidance of his fellow pupil Ilario Spolverini. Crucial importance attaches in this connection to a trip to Florence, where he studied the works of Jacques Courtois, known as Borgognone, in great depth and made some copies of them. Simonini also visited Rome and Bologna but found success in Venice, where he worked for Johann Matthias von der Schulenburg, mercenary commander of the Venetian forces in the struggle against the Turks, from 1733–45 and painted a great number of battle scenes involving cavalry. Simonini's peculiar style, characterized by quick brushstrokes and the use of bright colors, was developed under the influence of the contemporary Venetian school with particular reference to view painters such as Marco Ricci and Francesco Guardi.