Lot 21

Field Marshal Count Johann Matthias von der Schulenburg (1661-1747), 1741 by whom (probably) bequeathed to his nephew,
Christian Günther von der Schulenburg, Berlin
Museum of Arts, Hanover, c. 1970
Sotheby's, London, 12 December 1984, lot 21
where presumably purchased by Robert Compton Jones

Schulenburg libri-cassa, Hanover, Niedersächsisches Staatsarchiv, MS, entry for 31 August 1741, recording payment of 10 zecchini to Schulenburg's secretary Johann Friedrich Werner for the purchase of 'due quadri...uno del autore Piacetta rappresenta Abel morto, e l'altro il Samaritano caduto tra i ladri'.
1741, 30 Giugno Venezia, Inventario Generale della Galleria di S.E. Maresciallo Co: di Schulemberg...La qual Galleria pricipio à formarsi l'anno 1724 ripartita coll'ordine che segue, Hanover, Niedersächsisches Staatsarchiv, Dep. 82, Abt. III, as part of the 'Quadri due pma maniera uno rapta Abel morto, e l'altro il Samaritano' by Piazzetta, valued at 100 ducats.
Inventaire de la Gallerie de Feu S. e. Mgr. Le Feldmarechal Comte de Schulenburg, annotated copy. Hanover, Niedersächsisches Staatsarchiv, Dep. 82, Abt. III, N. 95. No. 444, as part of the two 'Tableaux prim maniére, l'un repress. Abel mort, l'autre le Samaritain' by Piazzetta.
A. Binion, 'From Schulenburg's Gallery and Records', in Burlington Magazine, May 1970, p. 301
A. Binion, La Galleria scomparsa del maresciallo von der Schulenburg, Milan, 1990, p. 96, 172, 236 and 284
Mariuz, A, L'opera completa del Piazzetta, Rizzoli: Milano, 1982, p.75, cat. no. 1 (illus.)
Knox, G, Giambattista Piazzetta, 1682-1754, Oxford, 1992, p. 31, no. 26 (illus.)

RELATED WORK:
Giovanni Battista Piazzetta, The Good Samaritan, oil on canvas, 79.5 x 107.2cm, sold at Christie's, London, Old Master Paintings and Sculpture, 4 Dec 2019, lot 245.

LOT ESSAY:
Taken from the Book of Genesis, the story of Cain and Abel, the children of Adam and Eve, is one of jealousy and fratricide. Cain, the first born, became a "tiller of the soil" and Abel a "keeper of sheep", and when they both made their respective offerings to God; the fruits of the earth and the first born of the flock, God favoured the latter, arousing anger and jealousy in Cain, who then murdered his brother. As punishment Cain became a fugitive destined to wander the earth.

Piazzetta was a student of Antonio Molinari (1655-1704), one of the leading tenebrosin of Venice. Along with its pendant painting The Good Samaritan, (1) the Death of Abel is thought to be one of Piazzetta's earliest extant works. He has chosen the Old Testament subject and balanced it with of a scene from the New Testament, both of which rely on recumbent figures for the dead Abel and the wounded Samaritan; a pose which could be easily sustained by a model for a period of time allowing for concentrated study, as well as the complex disposition of the limbs a signifier of the young painter's ability to successfully render the modelling and foreshortening of the body as part of an artistic composition. A rare survival from Piazzetta's formative years, the Death of Abel is the result of the intense training undergone by the young painter.

This work was originally in the collection of the Prussian aristocrat and mercenary soldier, Marshal Johann Matthias von der Schulenburg, (1661-1747) who, after a military career in the service of the Kings of Saxony and the Venetian Republic, settled in Venice, and in retirement became an avid and renowned art collector, patron and bon vivant. Thanks to his connection to many of the royal families of Europe including the Hanoverians, the Bourbons, and the Habsburgs he became well known as an intermediary and host in 18th century Venice. In 1724 he acquired the collection of Ferdinand Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua, which included works by Raphael, Correggio, Castiglione, Giulio Romano, and Giorgione. As patron, he supported Guardi, Pittoni and Simonini as well as commissioning works from Canaletto, Nogari and Corradini. Amongst the artists Schulenburg employed as agents in his collecting was Piazzetta with whom he enjoyed a particularly close relationship, especially in the years 1738 to 1745. Piazzetta not only sold his own works but also dealt in Old Masters, however it seems that the Death of Abel and its companion painting did not enter the Schulenburg collection directly from the artist, they were acquired for Schulenburg by his secretary Johann Friedrich Werner from an unknown third-party.(2)

The discovery of two early works by Piazzetta must have delighted Schulenburg as an opportunity both to add to his collection and to surprise his friend, however the self-critical Piazzetta seems to have less enthusiasm for his youthful canvases. When he oversaw the valuation of Schulenburg's collection for the 1741 inventory, he valued the pendant pair at only 100 ducats, as compared to 60 ducats for a single drawing.(3)

Ronan Sulich

(1) Christie's London, 24th April 2008, lot 98
(2) Binion, 1990, p. 96
(3) Binion, 1970, p.301