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Peter H. Tillou - Works of Art 17th- and 18th-century American and European Furniture, Antique Carpets, American Folk Art, Arms and Armor, Early African Sculpture, Chinese Han and Tang Dynasty Pottery, Pre-Columbian Art, European Old Master Paintings, American Paintings and Sculpture, Classic Cars 1928 –1934, Rare Coins and Medals, Early American Blown Glass, and Native American Art. 109 Prospect Street, Litchfield, CT 06759 ♦ 860.567.5706 Sanibel Island, Florida 33957 www.antiquesandfineart.com/ptillou ♦ Established 1953 ♦ By chance or appointment suggested Giuseppe Canella, born in Verona in 1788, was a painter of marine scenes and landscapes. Although there is little information available on his working career, he is known to have painted several views of Paris in 1826/7, and also to have been working in Milan in 1830. Several of his works may be found in museums in Milan, Nantes, and at the Musee Carnavalet in Paris. Livorno, the port depicted here, is the capital of the Leghorn province in Tuscany, and is situated in central Italy on the Ligurian sea. In 1521, construction of the Fortezza Vecchia began as part of an effort to further fortify the town and to improve its harbor and trade facilities. Ferdinand I, grand duke of Tuscany, opened the port of Livorno to settlement by traders of all nations in the seventeenth century, and by the end of his rule the city had surpassed Pisa in importance as a port. In this scene, Canella depicts a panoramic view of the harbor fortifications at Livorno with various ships at sea. Of particular interest is the steam driven paddle-wheel ship in the right half of the composition. The American inventor Robert Fulton built his first successful paddle-wheel ship in 1807, and within a few years boats of this type were widely used on inland and coastal waters in both Great Britain and the United States. However, the merchant navy in Europe did not begin to use steam ships until the early 1830s. This knowledge, combined with the fact that Canella is known to have been working in Milan in 1830, gives credence to a date of 1836 for this picture, which is indistinctly inscribed (18?6). Giuseppe Canella, the Elder (Italian) 1788–1847 Panoramic Seascape of Livorno with the Fortezza Vecchia and Boats on a Choppy Sea Gouache and bodycolor on paper mounted on canvas Signed and dated G. Canella 18 (3) 6 107 x 305 cm (42 x 120 inches)