NOVELLI. Due lottatori nudi.

Plastic and effective representation, perhaps the preparatory study for a fresco or an engraving, which seems to refer to the ancient masters. Francesco Novelli, 1764-1836, was a poet, painter, engraver and designer of no small skill. Son of the Venetian painter and engraver Pier Antonio Novelli, he practiced a lot in covering the art of the ancient masters such as Mantegna or Guercino. His father said of him that he designed fakes made so well that they would be taken for authentic. He was very successful as an engraver and engraved works by Rembrandt, for Remondini and other illustrious authors and publishers. Novelli engaged in the reproduction of Rembrandt's etchings, which were already part of the old Anton Maria Zanetti collection, thus enhancing the work of the brilliant artist, free from any predetermined form or subject.