Pietro Longhi and Carlo Goldoni: Relations between Painting and Theater

Author(s): Philip L. Sohm

Source: Zeitschrift fr Kunstgeschichte, 45. Bd., H. 3 (1982), pp. 256-273
Published by: Deutscher Kunstverlag GmbH Munchen Berlin
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1482159
Accessed: 15-08-2015 05:56 UTC
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Philip

L. Sohm

PietroLonghiand Carlo Goldoni: relationsbetweenpaintingand theater

PietroLonghi(1702- 1785)madehis debutas a er,theCanalettoofSettecento
dailylife7.Longhi's
witha seriesofspectacular
failures, blandly descriptivestyle is partiallyresponyoungpainter
themostnotablebeingtheFall oftheGiants(Ve- sible, since it is sufficiently
precisein recordnice,Palazzo Sagredo;dated1734).He leftVenice
soon thereafter,
possiblyto avoidembarrassment asuntonon e di grancaso riservandomi
al secondo
orperhapstoimprove
hisart,butineithercasehis
chesaragustosoe dartpiacere.<<
Bassano,MuseoCinaturalfacility
as a history
painterhadprovedso
vico,ep. Remondini
XIII-25-3543,7 Dec. 1748;Aldo Rav'i,PietroLonghi,Florence,1923,27-28.
scantthathe turnedto genrepainting,
underthe
ofthe
Fora
andananthology
inspirationand guidance of Giuseppe Maria s morecompletebibliography
contributions
up to 1968,see Piimportant
As
se
concluded:
rendre
Mariette
Crespi.
4I1squt
gnatti,Longhi,13-18 and 70-80. Michael Levey
studiesin
thequestionoficonographic
justiceetjugerqu'il ne r6ussiroit
pas de meme a
summarizes
monotraiter
dansle grandgenre.Ii se bornaa
in a reviewofPignatti's
I'histoire
Longhischolarship
graph(in Art Bulletin,LII, 1970,463): >On the
de feteset de
celui-ci(des sujetsde conversation,
he
of thepaintings
questionof the subject-matter
mascarades)et il fut
Longhiadopteda
(Pignatti)has not a greatdeal to say. Indee , he
gouit.<<'.
commensurate
withhisabilities a
havebeenas
seemsas baffled
as mostcommentators
simpleformat
is happening
insomescenes... (Lontowhatexactly
shallow,windowlessstagerarelywithmorethan
however,
requirescloserscruninefigures
inrestrained
it
ghi's)subject-matter,
poses- andmaintained
thanithasso farreceived.<<
SixyearslaterChartiny
withno variationthroughout
a forty-five
year
les McCorquodale(?Italianpaintingof the sevencareer.His Venetiancollectors,mostlypatriteenth and eighteenthcenturies,<<
Connoisseur,
monotoCXCIII, 1976,211) couldmakethesamestatement
cians2,nevertiredofthiscompositional
with equal accuracy:>>Longhi's iconographyrein thesubnybecausetheyweremoreinterested
<<Two interesting
studied.
conmainsto be carefully
than
the
Alessandro
wrote
that
jects
style.
Longhi
oftherhinotributions
shouldbenoted.Thehistory
hisfather
wishedto amusebypainting>>Conver- cerosportrayedby Longhiis discussedby T. H.
Clarke, >The Iconographyof the Rhinoceros,<<
sazioni, Riduzzioni,con ischerzid'amorie di
on
Connoisseur,
1974,113-122.In a briefdiscussion
gelosie<3.The painterhimselfassuredGiovanni
Longhi,RonaldPaulson(Emblemand Expression,
BattistaRemondini,his Udinesepublisher,that
Mass., 1975,108-112)applieda simple
Cambridge,
hiswork>>sara
- an attentive
ofdetails
visualexamination
gustosoe darapiacere<4.
technique
conclusions
Giventheseindicationsof intent,it is curious
toarriveatsomeimportant
concerning
thattheprecisecontent
ofLonghi'ssubjectmatter theeroticcontentof Longhi'swork.Paulson'sapproachisimportant
onlybecauseitis newto Longhi
hasneverbeenanalyzed5.
Historiansofcostume,
studies.Its utility,
is severely
limitedbehowever,
interiordecorationand socialcustomsoftencite
on internal,
visibleevidencauseitreliesexclusively
hispaintings
as documentary
Somehisfromculce withoutreference
to anyinformation
evidence6.
or
obtural
social
For
Paulson's
toriansofartconsiderhiman interior
spheres.
example,
viewpaint- servation
tutoris moreinterested
thatthe
1 PierreJeanMariette,
ed. Ph. de ChenAbecedario,

nevieresandA. de Montaiglon,
Paris,1854-56,III,
221.
2 Francis
N. Y., 1963,
Haskell,Patronsand Painters,
PietroLonghi,Venice,1968,
323; TerisioPignatti,
20-22. Neithermentionsa uniquenoticeestablishin a patriingtheoriginallocationof his paintings
cian'spalace.AninventorK
of1753notesthatanunnumberofLonghi'sworkshungin >,leCaspecified
meredelleDonne<<intheCasinoofMarinaSagredo
Pisani(BibliotecaCorrer,Cod. P. D., C 2750 bis/
12).
delleVitede'Pittori
Longhi,Compendio
3 Alessandro
Veneziani,Venice,1762,n. p.
4 >La diligenza
vi sono ma non vi sono il grandioso
masimenelleariedelletestecomesono nel quadro
chequiil sig.Faldonicomeintagliatore
valentepotrai
e conservar
bellearienelletestee sempre
aggiustare
un granlumenellafiguradi meso. Questo primo

geography
inhispupil'sbosomthantheterrestrial
globe(inThe
Lesson,Venice,QueriniStampalia
Gall.)
Geography
is basedon a visualpun:twodifferent
typesofcurvatureformtheostensibleand realobjectsof study.
Thispunhas itsanalogyin thelinguistic
identificationofa woman'sbreastsandglobes.GianBattista
Casti(1724-1803):>Le sporgeandalsenduri,ampie
tondii due globichepareandue mappamondi<<
(in
Opere,Turin,1849,I, 292).
La storiadi Venezianellavita
6 PompeoMolmenti,
privata, II Decadimento,Bergamo, 1929, III,
170-172and 391-394; G. Morazzoni,La moda a
VenezianelsecoloXVIII, Milan,1931;R. Levi-Pi<<Actes
italien,
setzky,>>Lacouleurdansl'habillement
du costume,
du JerCongresInternational
d'histoire
Venice, 1955; Rosita Levi Pisetzky,Storia del
in Italia,Milan,1964,IV; GuyDumas,La
costume
fin de la Republiquede Venise,Paris,1964,p. 80;
Charles Diehl, La Rcpubliquede Venise,Paris,

256

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1. PietroLonghi,The Love Potion.Venice,Ca' Rezzonico

257

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to subtly(weakly,somemaysay)thatanyintended
ing the appearanceof clothingand furniture
have convincedthesehistorians
of theirreality. meaningis mutedbeyond recognition.Truly
Yet evenif each scene,consideredindividually, Longhi'sineffectual
world,miredin ambiguity,
werean accuraterepresentation
ofcontemporaryreflects
histimes.Itscontent
is so topicalthatonce
life- a supposition
thatwillbe critically
examined the ephemeralattitudesembodiedin tasteand
later- thisin itselfwouldnotmeanthatLonghi fashionhad passed,thepointsofreference
in his
of a workswereobscured.
approachedhis materialwiththeneutrality
In facthedidexercise
editorial
controlin The theater
ofCarlo Goldoni(1707- 1793),the
reporter.
theselectionof subjectmatter.Missingfromhis Moliereof Venice,can helpto restorethesocial
worldis theceremonial
RepublicoftheRegatto, and culturalcontextsof Longhi'swork. Ever
theSposalizioandothermassentertainments
that sincehisfirst
maturecomedieswereproducedby
had beenrecordedby Guardi,Canaletto,Carle- theMedebaccompanyin 1748,Goldonianalyzed
varisand others.Insteadhe capturesVeniceas a Venetiansocialcustomswiththeprecisionso obre- viouslymissingin Longhi.
pleasurecity,thesiteforhopefulseductions,
at coffeehousesor thepro- In hisrepertory
offlatterers,
laxingstimulations
gossips,liars,pantheVeof gambling(fig. 1). In this derers,swindlers,
misersand imposters,
misinguncertainty
to thepopularimageheldby netiansrecognizedthemselves,
sometimeswith
respecthe conforms
butusually
foreigntouristsof an amoralcity,seductiveyet suchacuitythatslanderwasimputed,
The
for
courtesans
under
with
the
themselves
that
the
arcade
of
growing
appreciation
debauched8.
theProcuratie,
HistotheRidottoanda prolongedCar- led to Goldoni'sandLonghi'spopularity.
nevalwithits intrigueof maskssimultaneouslyrianshaveoftenremarked
similariupona generic
the
the
their
between
chosen
two
natural
and
aroused
an
artists,
captivated
subjects
by
ty
curiosity
Evensucha sympa- a comparison
initiated
acquiredmoralindignation.
during
byGoldonihimself
theticdefender
ofItaliancustomsas GiuseppeBa- the1750s.GoldonievokedLonghiforinspiration
rettihad to admitthat>>the
Venetiansareindeed withthewords:>tuchela miamusasorellachiamoreaddictedto sensuality
it has
thanmorenorthern mi...<<Yet, despitethisexplicitstatement,
too passionately<<9. beengenerally
assumedthatLonghiwas inspired
nations,andlovecardsrather
intohis
Mosthistorians
ofartrecognizeLonghias a so- by Goldoniandtranslated
theplaywright
cialcommentator,
notpictorial
This premise
reporter,
yettheir own idiomand artisticmedium"1.
discussions
ofsubjectmatter
likeCallot,Gillot
havebeeneitherde- seemsreasonablewhenartists
detachedfromany andWatteauarerecalled,
scriptiveor impressionistic,
yetitignoresthehistoriworks.Suchanalytic
criteria cal factthatLonghihadfullydevelopedhiscomic
analysisofindividual
as thesymboliccontentof fashionsand these- vocabularyat leastsix yearsbeforeGoldoniremanticbasis of Longhi'shumorhave not even storedVenetiantheaterin 174812.I proposeto
to
been mentioned'o.
fromLonghiandhisintent
This scholarlyneglectis par- shifttheperspecitve
admirerof Longhi.
tiallyjustified
by thefactthatLonghi'ssubjects Goldoni as a contemporary
oftendefydefinition.
He usuallypaintedgenre Longhiwillbe evaluatedas Goldonimighthave
scenesofinconsequential
him.
so understood
action,characterised

1967,257-258;MauriceAndrieux,Veniseau temps
de Casanova,Paris,1969,252-253;MauriceRow-

Levey,PaintinginXVIII CenturyVenice,London,
1959, 114: >(Longhi's) mindhad shown neitherdesi-

renorabilityto expressanything
otherthanwhatit

don, The fall of Venice,London, 1970, 56-57; Gui-

do PeroccoandAntonioSalvadori,Civiltadi Vene-

registeredas seen< (his emphasis). Here Levey was

probably expressinghis dissatisfactionat scholars'
inflatedpraise of Longhi's artisticmerit,ratherthan
just a beliefin Longhi's totalobjectivity.

zia, Venice, 1973, III, 1091-1092; Hermann Schrei-

aus Stein;Venedigunddie Veneziaber,Das Schiff

ner,Munich, 1979, 280.

7 G. Damerini,I pittorivenezianidel '700,Bologna,

1928, 80; John Maxon and Joseph Rishel (eds.),

Rococo
PaintinginItalyin theEighteenth
Century:
to Romanticism,Chicago, Art Institute,1970, 76:
?Longhi is completelywithout editorialcomment.
He recognizessocial situationsfortheirpictorialvalue and recordsthem as situations;he seems to say,
>Thisis the way it is,<and leaves it at that.<; Michael

Fora generaldiscussion
andcomplete
bibliography,
see Ludwig Schudt,Italienreisen
im 17. und 18.

Jahrhundert,Vienna-Munich, 1959; C. del Balzo,

L'Italia nella LetteraturaFrancese,Turin, 1907,

444f. Two typicalcomments:JohnGeorge Keysler,

Travels throughGermany,Bohemia,Hungary,
Switzerland,
Italyand Lorrain,London,1765,IV,
11: )Young persons,who seek forentertainment
on-

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Goldonilovedpaintingsby Longhiand his follower AndreaPast6 because theyillustrated

a
world sympathetic
to his own. In 1756 he describedLonghias a >singolarissimo
imitatore
della natura,che,ritrovata
una originalemanieradi
esprimerein tela i caratterie le passionidegli
andexorbitant
licentiousness,
ly indebauchery
may
hereindeed,ifnotsatiatetheirdesires,at leasttire
themselves.<<
SelectedLettersbetweentheLate DuMissDolman,
chessofSomerset,
Lady Luxborough,
...London,

1778, II, 238, letter to Mr. Hull, 25

Dec. 1765:AInshort,ifa womanhasanyMindtobe

wicked,Veniceseemsto be the last Place in the
Worldto giveherbetter
Sentiments.,o
An Accountofthe
Mannersand Customsof
9 Baretti,
Italy,London1768,II, 144.
basis,see note5 andp. 256 below.
10 For thesemantic
The symbolism
offashionis difficult
to analyze,althoughsourcesdo exist,suchas thepopularhairdi pettidressingmanualby Le Gros,Enciclopedia
narsi(Venice,1769)whichlabelsthedifferent
wig
attributes
as >a l'Inconstyleswithsuchcharacter
"
a la Prudence, le Ravir.< When
stance,a laJalousie,
Gozzi saw a portrait
ofan innkeeper
byAlessandro
Longhi,he commentedthathe was dressed>con
(Gazgentilezza,percheimitauna naturagentile.<<
zettaveneta,n. LV, 13 Aug. 1760)In Goldoni'sLa
Locandiera, an impoverishednobleman carries
abouta sheathed
swordbrokenatthehilt.Thissymboliccastration
illustrates
a favorite
satiricthemefor
ofnobleprotection.
Goldoni,theimpotence
Bythe
mid-18th
swordswerenotwornas a partof
century
one's personalapparelyet he maintainedan outmodedfashionjustas he continuedthepretenseof
nobleprotection.
theboorsCancianoand
Similarly
refusal
LunardoinI Rusteghi
paradetheirobstinate
to adoptnewfashions
by wearingclothesyearsout
dei>Rusteghi<
eil
ofdate;seeL. Rosato, I1linguagio
veneziano>civile<del Goldoni,<<
Attidell' Istituto
Venetodi Scienze,Lettereed Arti,CXIX, 1960-61,
299-354.A boorinaninelegant
poseandwitha spittoonathisfeetmaybe represented
byLonghiinhis
so-calledFamily Group (London, National Gallery).
11ErnestoMasi,Sullastoriadelteatroitalianonelsecolo XVIII, Florence,1891,239ff(stillthemostimportantcontribution);
PhilippeMonnier,Veniseau
XVIIIe Siecle,Paris,1907,180:describesLonghias
>l'illustrationvivantedu theatrede Goldoni<<;A.
Venedig.
Ravi,Longhi,10and23; FritzSchillmann,
undKultur,Leipzig-Vienna,
Geschichte
1933,602;
Giuseppede Logu, PitturaVenezianadal XIV al
XVIII secolo,Bergamo,1958,153; EduardHiittinMalerei,Ziirich,1959, 71: deger, Venezianische
SichtbarscribesLonghi'sworkas >die malerische
RodolfoPallucmachungderWeltvon Goldonis<<;
Venicechini,La PitturaVenezianadel Settecento,
Rome,1960,179and 187;A. Chastel,>II Settecento
La CiviltaVenezianadelSetVenezianonelleArti,<<
tecento,
Florence,1960,225: on Longhi Si trattadi
unaspeciedi Molibredellapittura,
o piutosto,come
si e spessonotato,di una equivalenzapittoricadel
Goldoni,plu incisivoe ironico<<;
TerisloPignatti,
Pittura in Europa: il Settecento,Milan, 1969,
157-158; Pignatti,Longhi,86; Andrieux,Venise,

Sixyearsearlierhe invokedLonghias
uomini<13.
his >comicmuse<<
fora lovestoryhe intended,
albeitin pretense,
to writememorializing
themarriageof GiovanniGrimaniand CatterinaContarini:
Longhi,tu chela miamusasorella
chiamideltuopennelchecercail vero
ecco perla tuaman,pel miopensiero
sublime,ideanovella.
argomento
Ritrartupuoivergine
illustre
e bella
di dolcevisoe portamento
altero;
pingerpuoi di Giovanniil ciglioarciero
cheii dardoscoccaallagentildonzella14

In his praiseforLonghi,Goldonidrewupon a
thathehadfirst
conceptualvocabulary
appliedto
his own art.He formulated
his dramatictheory
intocompleteandcoherent
formin 1750whenhe
wrotetheprefaceforthefirst
collectionofhiscomedies:>I1 primo(the>book of theworld<<)
mi
mostratantie poi tantivaricaratteri
di persone,
252: >sonoeuvresembleuneillustration
vivantes
des
Peroccoand Salvadori,Cicomediesde Goldoni<<;
vilta di Venezia,III, 1092-1093,1096. The only
scholarto havesystematically
appliedanyformof
comparativeanalysisto individualpaintingsand
playsby Longhiand Goldoniwas RobertoLonghi
Italiano,Turin,
(in Teatroe ImmaginidelSettecento
1954, 70-82). Many problems exist with his
For example,he identifies
interpretations.
Longhi's
Faint (Washington,
NationalGalleryof Art) as a
scenefromGoldoni'sLa fintaammalata,withRois described
saura,whosecondition
bythetitle,surroundedby herfriendBeatrice,hersuitorLelio, a
Pantalone(fromleftto
youngdoctorandherfather
right).His readingof theepisodeis mostpeculiar.
The doctoris saidto be reviving
Rosaura,yethe acherfromPantalone.
tuallyseemsto be protecting
And whywouldsheneedprotection
fromherown
In fact,canthisevenbe Pantalone?
He
lovingfather?
doesnotshowhischaracteristic
beardandpot-belly;
heis represented
rather
as a procurator,
anoffice
that
themerchant
Pantalonecouldneverattain.Finally,
TheFaint,whichisconvincingly
datedtoabout1742
(see Pignatti,
Longhi,116),precedesthefirst
performanceofLafintaammalatabynineyears.
12 The Concert(Venice,Accademia)and the Gentleman'sAwakening(Windsor,RoyalCollection)are
dated1741and1742respectively.
For thechronolosee G. Ortolani,>Appunti
gyof Goldoni'sreform,
La Riforma
perla storiadellariforma
goldoniana,<<
del Teatro nel Settecento,Venice-Rome,1962,
41-64.Haskell(PatronsandPainters,
323)hasquestionedwhetherGoldonicouldhaveeverinfluenced
Longhi,and in factsuggeststhat>>itmaywellhave
whoinspired
thepoet.<<Norbert
beenthepainter
Jonard(La vita a Venezianel XVIII secolo,Milan,
discussedthedifferences
be1967,251-253)briefly
tweenLonghiand Goldoni,notingthattheformer
butthelatterneverdid.
depictedecclesiastics
letterto MarcoPitteri,
prefa13Fromthededicatory
Goldoni,Tuttele Opere,ed. G.
cingII Frappatore;
Ortolani, Milan, 1936, II, 92.

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forGoldoniwerenotlimitedto his
Innovations
i
meli dipingecosi al naturale,... mirappresenta
butincludedthecreation
di tuttele umanepassio- choiceofsubjectmatter
segni,la forza,glieffetti
to thereformed
concuriosi:m'infor- of a new style,appropriate
ni: mi provvededi avvenimenti
criticized
thestyleofhisprede' vizie de' tent.He persistently
made' correnti
costumi:m'instruisce
bombast:>>Monstylen'etoit
chesonpiucomunidelnostrosecoloe della decessorsas inflated
difetti
nostraNazione... I secondopoi, cio6ii librodel pas el1gant, maisvoila
ce qu'ilfalpr&cis6ment
.... peu ' peu ' la raisonun public
mi fa co- loitpourramener
Teatro,mentreio lo vo maneggiando,
auxhyperboles,
auxantitheses
etau rinoscerecon quali colorisi debbanrappresentaraccoutume
etdu romanesque<<22.
In his
le passioni,gliavvenimenti,diculedu gigantesque
sulleScenei caratteri,
chenellibrodelMondosileggono;comesidebba TeatroComicoof 1753,Goldoniprovidesexamombreggiarli
per dar loro il maggiorerelievo,e ples of the >>stileantico,pieno d'antitesie di
quali sienquelletinte,chepiuili rendongratiagli traslati<<23
occhidilicatideglispettatori<<5.
Placida:Signor
Lelio,ancora
qui?
mevo
farfalla,
In thisimportant
artistic
Goldonide- Lelio: Si, miaSignora;qual invaghita
manifesto,
al
delle
vostre
intorno
lume
pupilraggirando
themesthatformedthe
finedthosefundamental
le.
for Placida: Signore,se voiseguiterete
basisforhislatertheoryandhisappreciation
questostile,vifarewas acceptedby most
teridicolo...<<
Longhi.His self-appraisal
writersincludingVoltaire,whose 14
contemporary
))Del Sig.DottorCarloGoldonifragliArcadiPolise FigliodellaNaepithetof Goldonias >>Pittore
senoFegejoal SignorPietroLonghiVenezianoCetura<<
was widelypublicized'6.For Goldoni,na< in Componimenti
lebrePittore,
lefelicisPoeticiper
toa faithful
turalism
wasnotlimited
reproduction simeNozze diSueEccellenzeilSignorGiovanniGrimanie la SignoraCatterinaContarini,
Venice,1750,
of sensoryphenomena,
as thattermin arttheory
in Goldoni,Opere,XIII, 187-188.
77; reprinted
would suggest,butservedas thebasisfora psydiscusGoldoni,Opere,I, 769-770.Fora thorough
The >>caratteri
e le passio- 15sionofthis
chologicalnaturalism7.
passage,seeMarioBaratto,Trestudisul
teatro(Ruzante-Aretino-Goldoni),
intheworkofLonghicorVicenza,1964.
ni<<thathe appreciated
16 Voltaire,
1972CVI,
OeuvresComrpltes,
Banbury,
in
to
his
intense
interest
man's
psyche.
responded
seeAntonio
146-147,24 Sept.1760;foritspublicity,
sexual
Love, in theformofpassinginfatuations,
Zardo, TeatroVenezianodel Settecento,
Bologna,
thedramadesiresandpettyjealousies,generated
is an anonymousre1925, 69-72. Not mentioned
viewinLa Minerva,o sianuovagiornalede' letterati
tic action more oftenthan any othermotive.
d'Italia,Venice,1764,IX, 99-111. For Goldoni's
du
ne
m'int&resse
davantage
l'analyse
que
>>Rien
responsetoVoltaire,seehisdedicatory
appreciative
coeurhumain,
<<wroteGoldoniinhisMemoires,18 letterand prefaceof Pamela maritata.Voltaire's
he calleduponLonghito inspire
and accordingly
was not universally
judgement
accepted.SomecrihimwhenhewantedtorecordtheGrimani-Con- tics,led byPietroChiariinthesarcastic
Scuoladelle
theaccuracy,or even
Vedoveof 1749,qhuestioned
tariniromance.
of his translation
oflifeonto stage,
theplausibility
WhenGoldoniobservedthatLonghi>>ritrovata while
Carlo,
others,ledbyGasparoGozzi's brother
maniera<<
andwhenhe invitedLonuna originale
wonderedwhetherordinarylives shouldeven be
see G.
shownon stage.For a shorthistoriography,
ghitojoinwithhimto treatan >>idea
(my
novella<<
La Rifordi CarloGoldoni,<<
Ortolani,>>Lafortuna
ofhis
emphases),hemustalsohavebeenthinking
ma del Teatronel Settecento,
Venice-Rome,1962,
of drama
own historicalpositionas a reformer
of Goldoni'sna101-116.For modernevaluations
those>>adoratori
who bravelycondemned
d'ogni
see F. Fido, >>Lapoeticadel giocofravraituralism,
antichita
che amanotuttoall'antica,ed odianole
semblance
e verit,<<Guidaa Goldoni.Teatroe sociedel
ta
Settecento,
Turin,1977,89-101(withbibliohim
from
inabilities
excluded
novit<<19.
Longhi's
graphy).
theprestigious
fieldofhistory
andreligious
pain- 17 V.
e ConfinidellaRiformaGolPandolfi,>>Natura
of classical
ting.Goldonirejectedthetraditions
doniana,<<
Paragone,104, 1958,21-32;EttoreCactheCommediadell'ArteandalltheirhynellaCommediadel Golcia, Caratteree Caratteri
tragedy,
Ambienti
doni,Venice,1959,15-33;KurtRingger,
inopera.Bothartists
bridcombinations
turnedto
FrenchandcentralItaliansourcesforinspiration. ed IntreccinelleCommediedi CarloGoldoni,Bern,
1965,16-19;Wolfgang
Theile,Goldoni,Darmstadt,
LonghistudiedwithCrespiin Bolognaand co1977,20-31;Fido,Guidaa Goldoni,5-47;W. TheifromLancretandChardin20.
Goldoni
dellaCommediae sensodel realenel
le, >>Struttura
piedfigures
teatrodi Goldoni,<<StudiGoldoniani,
ed.N. MangiadaptedMolibreto theVenetianstage,possibly
ni, Venice, 1979, V.
ofplaysbytheFlorenafterseeingperformances
18 Goldoni,Memoires,
pt. 1, chap.18,p. 81;in Opere,
tinesGirolamoGigli (1660- 1722) and Jacopo
I, 81. See also theprefaceto vol. IX ofthePasquali
edition(in Opere,I, 661).
AngeloNelli(1673- 1767)whohadprecededhim
19 Goldoni,Opere,I, 770-771.Goldoni'sself-assessin usingMolibre21.
260

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2. PietroLonghi,The Painter'sStudio.Venice,Ca' Rezzonico

In I Due Gemelli Veneziani Goldoni identified continuing
his speechin a similarvein,Tonino
thebaroquestyleis:
the pompous styleof metaphorwithdeceit. Lelio realizesjusthow contagious
says to himself:
qui il mio fortunatorivale.
is copiedfromLancret'sOld Age(Lonofseduction
,Ecco
Voglio vedere se colla dolcezza del mio pregare
is adapted
don,NationalGallery)andthelaundress
fromChardin'sLaundress(Stockholm,Nationalposso vincerl'amarezza del suo negare... (to Tomuseum).The Lancretwas paintedshortlybefore
nino, his rival) M'inchino all'elevato, anzi altissisoon thereafter
1735,andengraved
(see MartinDamo invidiabil merito del piil celebre eroe dell'aNational Gallery,London,
French
vies,
School,
driaticocielo. <<Tonino answersin a similarmode,
in 1737
1957,127-128).The Chardinwas engraved
but his hyperbole is truthful:
strepito(see P. Rosenberg,Chardin,GrandPalais, Paris,
,Servitor After
contactbesissimo della sua altitonantegrandezza.<<
1979,n. 56, 198-200).For theartistic
tweenFranceand Venicein general,see R. Pallucau XVIIIeme
wassomewhat
mentas anisolatedinnovator
chini,>Veniseetl'Europecontinentale
exaggerated.For hisrelationto theCommediadell' Arte,
sicle,<< Venezia e l'Europa, Venice, 1956; N.
into
hisadoptionofCommediacharacters
Ivanoff,>I PittoriFrancesia Venezianel Settecenespecially
ed. V.
e Razionalitanel Settecento,
Goldonie la
histheater,
seeOlga Marchini-Capasso,
to,<<Sensibilita
PokorCommediadell'Arte,Naples,1912;Jaroslav
1957,II, 567-581.
Branca,Florence,
Technikder komischen
Theater,Berlin, 21 E. Merian-Genast,
ny,Goldoniunddas venezianische
,Die undGoldoni,<<Romanibei Moliere
Charakteristik
1968,77-102.
20 In 1767Goldoniappendeda noteto a poemwritten
LXIV, 1952, 114-139; Ulrich,
sche Forschungen,
und Molieres>Misanthroand
of PietroBonfandini
in 1761forthemarriage
,Locandiera<
,Goldonis
RomanischeForOrsettaGiovanelliin whichhe associatedLonghi's
pe,< zwei Motiventwicklungen,<<
di pittura< to Greuze: Opere,XIII, 316.
LXX, 1958,323-365;W. Theile,>Goldoschungen,
,genere (Abecedario,III, 221) wrotethatLonghi
einerdramatini undMoliere.Zur Verwirklichung
Mariette
Literazur Vergleichenden
a FrenchinfluschenPoetik,<<
>devintun autreWateau.<<Although
Beitraige
observed(for
ence on Longhihas been frequently
Festschrift
turgeschichte.
fiirKurtWais,Tiibingen,
Longhi,14-20),onlytwo 22 1972,89-106.
pastopinion,seePignatti,
ofborrowing
canbe found,bothintheSeGoldoni,Mimoires,pt.I, chap36; in Opere,I, 163.
instances
duction(Milan,CrespiCollection)wherethescene 23 Goldoni,TeatroComico(11,2);in Opere,II, 1068.
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3. PietroLonghi,The Faint.Washington,
D. C., NationalGalleryofArt,KressCollection

>>Siestu
mattoanca lo, butonlyas representatives
ofdifferent
maledio,cheel mefadeventar
subject
matter:>>un'adunanza
da ballo, una venturadi
naturalee facile,pernon di- amore((versus>>unfattod'arme,un'adunanzadi
styleas >familiare,
staccarsidal verisimile,<<
one that capturedan personaggigrandi,uno sbarco<27.However,if
uninflected
Gozzi's comparison
of LonghiandTiepolowere
reality25.
Howevervariedtheconceptualand etymologi- extendedto includestyle,it would becomeevical terminologies
ofpictorialandliterary
stylistic dentthatthecomplexfiguraland coloristicdyit
namicsof Tiepolo are >>ridiculouslygiganticand
is
nonetheless
remarkable
be,
analysismight
how closelyLonghistandsto Goldoni'sreform. romantic((
whentheyarejudgedagainstthestanGozzi
GasparoGozzi, theeditoroftheGazzettaveneta dardofLonghi'sunpretentious
simplicity.
andanassiduouscommentator
on Venetiansocie- seemsto havehadthisinmindwhenhe compared
toa picture
where
ty,notedthatthestylesof Goldoniand Longhi someimaginary
genrepaintings
>>sembra
were both characterizedby refinement
and everything
tratto
da que' nuvopiuttosto
Gozzi also comparedLonghiandTiepo- loni,chevolanoperl'ariala State,ne' qualisi vegrace26.
mi<<24.In contrast,Goldoni consideredhis own

24
25
26

Goldoni,I Due GemelliVeneziani(III, 7); inOpere,

II, 213-214.
Goldoni,TeatroComico(II, 2); in Opere,II, 1068.
Gozzi, Gazzettaveneta,n. LXXII, 11 Oct. 1760.
He does notattribute
theportrait,
butthejoviality
thathe sawinLonghi'sworkingeneral(L'Osservahere.He
toreveneto,14 Feb. 1761,p. 29) reappears
also describesGoldoni's stylein similartermsas
al suo
Longhi:on Goldoni- >>pensandoe meditando
e razzolareintutte
tavolino,puo a suo agioripescare
le infinite
facce
le fibredelcuoreumano,e dipingere

di quelloinogniargomento
da luipresoa lavorare.<<
On Alles. Longhi:>>Sonoinfiniti
gliaspettie innumerabilile facce,con le quali si presentala naturaa
di suamanola mopoetie a pittori...maviaggiunge
e quegl'infiniti
venzadelcorpo,quelletinteleggiere
tocchichepassanocosil'unoinaltro.<<(Gazzettaveneta,n. LV, 13 Aug. 1760). Also in thispassage,
Gozzi callsPietroLonghia painter
ofgrazia,a quality he associateswithGoldoniin the 11 Oct. 1760
entry.See Masi,Storiadelteatro,239ff.
27 Gozzi, Gazzettaveneta,
n. LV, 13Aug. 1760.

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D. C., NationalGalleryofArt,
4. PietroLonghi,TheFaint,detail.Washington,
KressCollection

de, e nonsi vedequello,chemostrano:moltolu- as Goldonicleansedhis languageof anynatural

so Longhialso idealisedformwithhis
ce, moltaoscurita,uominie donneche sono, e infelicities,
In
The semioticcontentof antitheses delicatepastelsand simplified
non sono<<28.
physiognomy.
and hyperbole- two devicesmostridiculedby thePainter'sStudio(Venice,Palazzo Rezzonico;
Chiaroscuro fig.2), thenoseofthesitterhasbeenmademore
Goldoni- havepictorial
equivalents.
in theirextreme
andcontraposto,
themouthis moregraceforms,arecon- slenderin theportrait;
Ex- fullyshapedbycurving
andsupthelipsgradually
trastsofopposites,thatis,visualantitheses29.
andsharp pressing
violentmovements
sides.Theresultisa remarktheindented
aggerated
gestures,
if able transformation
can be consideredhyperbolic,
of an ugly,puckeredmouth
foreshortenings
of Longhi'sstyleis accepted intoa sweetsmile.
thegenteelrestraint
limitintheir
arerelative. GoldoniandLonghisharedanother
as normative.
Of course,allstandards
Seicentopaintingwouldappearbaroquein com- pursuitsof naturalism.
Goldoni'spsychological
thattheaudience
parisonwithTiepolo. Vincenzoda Canal in his realismcouldbe so convincing
withpeople they
the oftenidentified
the characters
Vitadi GregorioLazzariniof 1732criticized
Commedia(La BottegadelCaffe)
17thcentury
paintersAntonioZanchiandPietro knew.>>Questa
cheinogniluogoove
and >>per
tantouniversali,
dellaVecchiaforbeing>>stravagante<<
lo ha caratteri
28
Venice,1768,VIII, 52 (,L'aGozzi, L'Osservatore,
pii deltetrocon il gagliardo((30.
bitazioned'un filosofocredutopazzo<<); notedin
AlthoughGoldoni disavowedmany artificial Haskell,Patronsand Painters,
323-324.
main- 29 D.
ofearlierstyles,henonetheless
mannerisms
Summers,>Contraposto:Styleand Meaningin
tainedthatartshouldadjustnatureby removing Renaissance
ArtBulletin,
Art,<<
LIX, 1977,336-361.
so 30 Vitadi GregorioLazzariniscrittada Vincenzoda
scenelubrichedi malesempio<<
scorretti,
>>gesti
Canal,pubblicataperla primavoltanellenozzeDa
thattheydo notoffendthe>>occhidilicati<<ofthe
ed. G. A. Moschini,Venice,1809,
Mula-Lavagnoli,
maymotivate
manyscenes
audience31.
Sensuality
20.
by Goldoniand Longhi,but it is nevercrudely 31 Goldoni,Teatrocomico(III, 3); in Opere,II, 1093.
In theprefaceto Il Prodigo,publishedforthefirst
ForLonghi,onlya glanceora discreet
portrayed.
timein 1757, Goldoni condemnedthe use of 4la
gestureis needed.The unmadebedintheGentlel'immodestia<<
scurriliti,
(In Opere,I, 861). In the
man'sAwakening(Windsor,RoyalCollection)is
to Il Servatoredi Due Padroni,he critizes
preface
butno moreexplicitactionaccompasuggestive,
grossolane<<in thetheater
quelleimproprieth
,tutte
coffeeor hotchocolate.Just
niesitthandrinking
(in
Opere,II, 7).
263

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mies would argue against the intentto portray.

Certainly it confuses any attemptat identification.
It can be concluded that Goldoni appreciated
Longhi forthose qualities he most admiredin his
own art. In Longhi he saw an innovatorlike himself, challengingan abstrusetraditionwith common sense. Like many reductiveminds, he felt
uneasy with his own isolation from the mainstream,and so he responded warmlyto Longhi's
work as a reassuringconfirmationofhis own. Unfortunatelyhis summarycommentsonly indicate
the favorableinclinationof his thoughts,but give
no idea what particular>caratterie le passioni degliuomini<<he saw in Longhi. Were theyreallythe
same as >i caratteri,le passioni, gli avvenimenti<<
thatGoldoni so preciselyrenderedon stage?
Goldoni,La Bottegadel Cafft,preface;in Opere,
III, 5.
Goldoni,Memoires,
pt. II, chap7; inOpere,I, 270.
(III, 9); in Opere,II, 1101.
14 Goldoni,Teatrocomico
Lelio (theold-fashioned
poet): >>Sapetecosa piacera
sempresulteatro?<<Orazio (Goldoni'sspokesman):
>>Echecosa?< Lelio: >>Lacritica.<<Orazio: >>Bastache
sia
cheprendadimiral'universale,
e nonil
moderata;
5. PietroLonghi,CoffeeHouse. Engraving
by
il vizio,e nonilvizioso;chesiameracriP. Wagnerafterthelostoriginal;ex. Collectionof
particolare;
tica,e noninclinaallasatira.<<
CeciliaEmo MorosinidelleSbarre
n. p.; A. Orlandi,Abecedario
3 Longhi,Compendio,
427: Longhipainted>>contal
Venice,
1753,
pittorico,
fu ella rappresentata,credevasifattasul conio decoloritoed evidenzachea primavistariconosconsi
le
gli originali riconosciuti<<32. When Le Femmine
personeed i luoghirappresentati.<<
16 John
andMannersinItaly
Moore,A ViewofSociety
Puntigliosewas performedin Mantua, Verona and
1820,II,
(1780),publishedinhisWorks,
Edinburgh,
Florence, the audience in each citythoughtit was
101.
intended to slander a differentlady33.Personal
37 TheFaint(Washington
GalleryofArt;49 x 61cm.).
For a completediscussionofprovenance
anddating
lampoons were not unknown on the Venetian
(c. 1742),see FernRuskShapley,Paintings
fromthe
stage, but Goldoni intendedto satirizecharacter
SamuelH. KressCollection.ItalianSchools,XVI not
and
social
conventions,
types
individuals34.
XVIII Century,
London,1973,136-137.The Game
Similarly Longhi's figureswere taken for porNationalGallery)sharesits
ofPentola(Washington,
al
vero
con
traits:>Dilatossi poi
and datingwith the
Mascherate,cosi
provenance,measurements
Faint,butit cannotbe concludedthata one-to-one
espresse nei loro naturali andamenti, che sono
betweenthetwopictures
was intended.
relationship
conosciute anco sottola Maschera,o wrotehis son
werecollectedserially(see those
Longhi's
paintings
must
have
been
Alessandro35.Such speculation
now in New York,Metropolitan
Museum;Venice,
reflexiveforVenetianslivinga charmedlifeof inPalazzo Rezzonico;Venice,GalleriaQuerini),but
sincefigures
orsituations
arenotcontinued
ordeveltrigue.The bautta was an ambiguous disguise,efoped withinthe>>series<,theycannotelicita referfectivein concealing one's identityfrom stranentialdensity
toGoldoni'sconcatenated
comparable
gers,but as Casanova learned,it could not deceive
seriesof sceneswhichgrowprogressively
richerby
the inquisitiveeyes of friendsor acquaintances.
an associativepast.The Pentolarepreestablishing
sentsa children's
gameplayedbyyoungadults,with
JohnMoore describeda masked Venetian noblea blindfoldedman tryingto breakopen an overman >>who, with an air of mystery,was conturnedcookingpot (pentola)in orderto win the
ducting a female mask into his cassino. My acAs a variantof blindman'sbuff,
prizeunderneath.
in its conventional
whichLonghialso represented
quaintance knew him perfectlywell, and assured
form(Windsor,Royal Collection),it probablyreme, he was the most innoncent creature with
fersto theclichethatloveblindsman(Goldoni,La
women...<<36 The typicalis always susceptibleof
vedovascaltra,II, 1). The exactmeaningoftheactransformationinto the specific,especially by a
tionis unclear.A manseatedat theleftstareswith
Venetian mind trainedin conspiracies,but Lonthata peasantin Longhi's
thesamestrange
intensity
Polenta(fig.14) staresatthemoundofdough.Penghi's limited repertoryof indistinctphysiogno32

264

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6. GiuseppeDe Gobbis,The Ridotto.SanDiego, MuseumofArt

A Case

Study:

The Faint37

A womanfaintswhileplayingcardswithsome and dreamof itsunattainable

results,whiletwo
friends
(fig.3). Theyclusteraroundher,offering bautteseemto haveno needofit(orhavetheyalsaltsanda pillow.A mantouchesherarm readyhad some?). Patronswho engagedin this
smelling
and glaresat a nobleman formofritualizedtrickery
gently,protectively,
expectedto be duped.
who,detachedfromthisintimate
group,intrudes Bothpartieswereas awareof thefraudas those
gesticulating
solemnly.Buthasshereallyfainted? maskerswhopretended
dailyanonymity.
Her limppose suggests
unconscious
reconstruction
of
abandon,yet GasparoGozzi, in a fanciful
hereyesareopenjustenoughso thatshecanroll Longhi'siconography,
established
as his
duplicity
themback and to herright(fig.4). Her mindis favorite
theme.In 1760 Gozzi inventedthirteen
alertand searching
forcluesunknownto us, but word-pictures
inthestyleofLonghi,ostensibly
as
she maintains
a helplesspose. This is deceit,but substitutes
fortherealthingwhichhe couldnot
whatkind?
afford
becauseofthehighprices:>>Iononsonone
Venice, with its spies and extendedcarnival, Pittore,ne ricco uomo da potereprovvedermi
thrived
on deception.The Frenchambassador
Jo- dell'operedi questovalenteMaestro;sicchenon
achimde Pierrede Bernisequippedhis casinoin havendone danarida spendere,
ne attivita
peradVenicewitha secretchamberthatallowedhimto operarei colori,ho pensatoun nuovomodo da
unpicciolostanzino,comeposso. Ho un
spyon hislover,thenunN. N., whileshemade guernire
love with othermen3".Masks allowed a more
harmlessvarietyof voyeurism.Longhilovedto
tola and polentaare anagrammatically
associated,
attheRidotto,incoffee
houpaintmaskedfigures
and theyare similarly
shaped,buttheircontextual
ses and in thePiazza. Theretheywould somein Longhiis uncertain.
meaning
timeswatchcharlatanson theirpalchi.Women 38 Jacques
Casanova,Histoirede ma Vie, ed. F. A.
at a vendoroflovepotions(fig.1)
Brockhaus,Paris,1960,IV, 104.
gazehopefully
265

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7. PietroLonghi,The Temptation.Hartford,
Conn., Wadsworth
Atheneum
Museum

carattere
benformato,
e so imitare
dellefaccende.
ognicondizio- notiziedella moglie,de'figliuoli,
ne di stampa.In quellepocheore,chem'avanzano Allebuonesi ricrea,allemalinconiche
sisbigottisdall' altremieoccupazioni,con certiferruzzila- ce. Ad ogniparolaha una faccianuova.L'amico
voroalcunecornici;ondein nonso alquantecar- staperlicenziarsi,
nonvuolchevadasi tosto.Ape facendone pena si puo risolvere
a lasciarloandare.L'ultime
tepecore,chepoi le vo incorniciando
nondivisi,o di corpi, suo vocisono:Ricordatevi
di me.Venite.Vostrae
piccioliquadri,certefigure,
ma d'animi,e di costumi;... Intantovi mandola la casa mia in ogni tempo.L'amico va. Chiuso
acciocchivediatela ma- l'usciodellastanza:Maladettosia tu,dice Lisancopiadi dued'essiritratti,
senzapennello,e chieden- dro, al servo,No ti diss'iomillevolte,che non
nieradelmiodipingere
do scusadellalibertY,
Dirai da qui in poi, ch'io son
ch'iomiprendo,sonvostro voglioimportuni?
di cuore<<9.Each ,picture<portraysa deceitful fuori.Costuinolvoglio.Lisandroe lodatoinogni
of luogo peruomo cordiale.Prendesipersostanza,
Sincethisremarkable
entry
personorsituation.
in histo- l'apparenza<<.
theOsservatore
hasnotbeenmentioned
withthecomment:
rical studies,at least one characterportrait>>al Gozzi endedanother
portrait
>Lisandeserves
mondo
vuol
ed
estrinseche
maschere,
Longhi<<
unabridged
quotation:
supersti>I1
dro avvisatodallo staffiere,
che un amicovienea zioni.<<Gozzi's portraits
are invaluablebecause
ofLonghi'svisionmore
i piediin theyconveythemeaning
visitarlo,stringei denti,gli diruggina,
terrabatte,smania,borbotta.L'Amicoentra,Li- completelythanany othersource,eventhough
sandro s'acconciail viso: lieto, e piacevolelo none relatedirectly
to anyparticular
painting
by
rende:conaffabiliti
themeofdissimuaccoglie,abbraccia,faconve- Longhi.Howevertherecurrent
nevoli:di nonaverlovedutoda lungotemposi la- lationdoes.
tantolo minaccia.Chiedegli 19Gozzi, Osservatoreveneto, 14 Feb. 1761, 28-29.
gna: Se piiidifferira
266

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id

. ........
.f:

.....
hi

.. ?. . .
.... . ,

~?;

..

f
+,++.

:
. ..-f ..,.+

.+.rjm, a" ,

,.

iJ

,.~r

.r r?

?11,
2 7,
c 1

8. Pietro
Antonio
La Scozese.
CarlGol- 9. PietroAntonioNovelli, La Finta Ammalata.
Novelli,
doni,Commedie,Venice:Pasquali,1761,XIII, 211 Carlo Goldoni, Commedie, Venice: Pasquali,
1761,VI, 95

in artiofwomen in hisown life.Madame Medebach,

women.Mirandolina
Goldonilovedfainting
tomaketheCava- who was an excellentactressgivento thevapours,
a faint
simulates
La Locandiera
Thestage feignedillnessto elicitsympathy,butin such cases
fallinlovewithher40.
lierediRipafratta
Senzeparlare, >>onn'avoit qu'a proposer de donnerun beau r6le
read:>Mirandolina.
instructions
Whilesheis a jouer a une Actricesubalterne,la malade gueriscadecomesvenuto
sopraunasedia.<<
on its soit sur-le-champ<<42.
Madame Medebach protheCavalierespeculates
>unconscious<<,
di
innamorata
with
a
model for Rosaura in La
Goldoni
fosse
vided
svenuta.
Che
meaning:
>>
no?Nonsonoioin- Finta Ammalata, whose psychosomatic illness
E perche
me?Macosipresto?
di lei?... Ma se e svenuta
namorato
perme.Oh, manifesteditselfby swoons, servingto communiAfter
theCavaliere
cometuseibella!<<
goesoutof cate herlove forLelio43.
>>resomewater,Mirandolina
theroomto fetch
Goldoni,La Locandiera(II, 17); in Opere,IV, 832.
so thatshemayobservein an asidehow 41 Ibid.
vives<<
Mirandola:,Oh, il signorCavalierenon s'inhasworked:
herstrategm
delledonne:
namora.Conoscel'arte.Se la furberia
successfully
>Orapoie
alleparolenoncrede;nonlagrimenonsi fida.Degli
Moltesonole nostrearmi,colle
cadutoaffatto.
svenimenti
dunque
poi se neride.<<Cavaliere:
quali si vinconogli uomini.Ma quandosono
,Sonoglisvenile lagrimedelledonne,sonomendaci
e unosveni- finte
sicurissimo
ilcolpadiriserva
ostinati,
di
menti?<<Mirandola:>Come! Non lo sa, o
when nonsaperlo?<<Cavaliere:>Giuroal cielo!Unafinge
state
tohersupine
Shethenreturns
mento.<<
talfinuno stilenelcuore.<o
Laterintheplay
zionemeriterebbe
theCavaliere
shehears
returning.
42
Mimoires,
Goldoni,
pt. II, chap. 10; in Opere,I,
the
disto losehisnaivete
he starts
concerning
286.
thearti- 43 The simulatedfaintwas also used in Frenchliteraartsofwomenandyetaccepts
sembling
ofwoattraction
as justanother
ficeoffainting
ture.ZobeideusesthisdevicetoseduceAngolainLa
similar Morliere'sAngola(in Contes,ed. O. Uzanne,Paris,
men41.Goldonihadoccasionto observe
40

267

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a characterfromthe Commedia
Other Goldoni heroines, such as Rosaura in II Smerlandina,
dell'Arte
in
Bourru
who
and
Dalancour
Le
Madame
provokedthemostdesperateattBugiardo
bienfaisant,sufferfrom genuine faints,usually emptsat seduction.The nobleman'sblatantstare
This po- reappearsin GeographyLesson (Venice, Papromptedby some kindofheart-break44.
ses a fundamentalproblem of interpretationfor
1879,248). In Diderot'sJacquesle Fataliste(OeuvThe Faint by Longhi. Has Longhi's heroinefaintres completes,ed. J. Ass6zat, Paris, 1875, VI,
ed involuntarilyfrom emotional distress, like
as a ployto be
215-216),Jacquespretends
virginitiy
thus
seducedbytwowomen,one ofwhom?faints<<
Eugenia in Gl'Innamorati who swoons when she
herbreaststo thefalseinnocent.
thinksthat Fulgenzio no longer loves her?45Or
exposing
has she faintedpurposefullyin order to manipu- 44 Goldon, II bugiardo(II, 3); in Opere,III, 118-119;
Le bourrubienfaisant(III, 8); in Opere, VIII,
late a man's love, like Elisa in Don Giovanni
1068-1069.
Tenorio?46How can deception,which juxtaposes 45 Goldoni,GI' Innamorati(III, 12); in Opere,VII,
411-412.
appearance and reality,be detectedin a medium
that must communicate exclusively by visible 46 Goldoni,Don GiovanniTenorio(II, 7-8); inOpere,
IX, 240.
signs? In The Faint it is the disparitybetweenthe 47 PietroGradenigo,
Notatorie Annuali,3 Sept.1760;
woman's helpless stateand her calculatingglance
publishedin L. Livian,Notizied'Arte... delPietro
thatestablishesa deceitfulintent,at least afterthe
Venice,1942,62.
Gradenigo,
in Opere,XIII, 316. In
48 Goldoni, II Burchiello,<<
fact. But this does not tell the whole story.Why
thispassage,Goldoniwas discussing
AndreaPast6,
has she fainted?What is herrelationto thenobleallamainpiccolefigure
?buonpittorespecialmente
man?
nieradel celebrePietroLonghl,<For PastS,see A.
di Bagnolie il PittoreAnPietro Gradenigo: >Pittore per attitudininaMariuz,>La Villeggiatura
dreaPastS,<<
ArteVeneta,XXX, 1976,197-199.
turali, e parlanticaricature,egli 6 il Sig.r Pietro
For a shortdiscussionon gesturein Goldoni,see
Goldoni: >Le so figurele xe la par- 49
56-69. Whereasthecontentof
Ambienti,
Ringger,
Longhil47.
looked
at
Goldoni
lanti<<48.
Longhi's
probably
gestureprobablycoincided,the syntaxdid not.
aresmall,intimate
viewsintendLonghi'spaintings
paintingas a staticmime,in whichfigures>spoke<<
ed to be studiedat close range,hencehis figures
by means of gesture,hence to understandthe coanddiscreet
couldadoptrestrained
posesandstillbe
thathe and Gozzi appreciamic characterisations
easilylegible,whereasactorson stagemustadopt
ted, the meaningof gesturemust be deciphered.
moreemphatic
so thattheycarryacrossthe
gestures
of
awareoftheeffects
theater.
Since Longhi and Goldoni based theirrespective
Goldoniwascertainly
distanceon gesture:>Nella scelta delle azioni,
artson currentsocial behavior,it may be assumed
... convieneavereun riguardoalla qualiti del Tethat theirgesturalvocabulary shared a commonatro,cio6 alla sua grandezza.In un Teatropicciolo
o critiriesconobenealcuneazionileggere,
ality whose mutual source was contemporary
familiari,
chemainunTeatrograndecolpisconodifficilmente,
usage. Both used eyes forsimilarexpressivepure conviene
c
scegliereazioni grandiose,strepitose,
poses, usuallyin seductions.Goldoni oftenintromassiccie. (La Donna di TestaDebole,preface;in
duced the roving eye that propositions. In the
ofscalehadquitetheopOpere,V, 108).The effect
Grimani-Contarinipoem quoted above, he inpositeresultwhenitcameto therelationofpicturevited Longhi to >>pingerpuoi di Giovanni il ciglio
WhereasLonghioftenhad
playto viewer-audience.
to the
faceoutwards,addressing
themselves
arcieroche il dardo scocca alla gentildonzella.<<In
figures
viewer,Goldoniforbadehisactorsthisdevice(Telies
to
his
father
that
Rosaura
Lelio
Bugiardo
Il
atro comico,II, 3; in Opere,1073). For Goldoni
had seduced him with her eyes: ?I miei occhi si
thatwas untheaudiencewas a masseavesdropper
sono incontratinei suoi. Io credo che in quei due
necessaryto the action evolvingindependently,
reon stage.Painting,
thatis,naturally
occhi abbia due diavoli, mi ha rovinatosubito, e
beingfurther
movedfromreality,neededmoredevicesto draw
non vi e statorimedio<<l5.
When a maskedRosaura
the viewerinto a fictiveworld; hencenarrating
in La Vedova Scaltra >>con qualche caricatura,
havea long
festaiuolior beseechingintermediaries
guardandovezzosamente il Conte senza
pictorialtradition.
parlare,,<<
with 50 Goldoni,II Bugiardo(III, 5); in Opere,III, 147.
it is reminiscent of Longhi's scenes
the
ero- 51 Goldoni,La VedovaScaltra(III, 19); in Opere,II,
In
the
House
5),
(fig.
Coffee
dominoes51.
400.
tic consequences of drinkingcoffeeare illustra- 52 For coffeeas an
seetheverseappended
aphrodisiac,
ted by a man in bautta pinching the skirt of
to Longhi'sCoffeeHouse as publishedby Wagner:
e al belpia>Quelli cheamenoal caldoberealletta,/
a woman, a standard gesture of proposition,
cerdellegrand'alme
serve,/
Sappia,cheAmorentro
and exchanging glances52.In the Ridotto (San
al liquor,cheferve,/
Temprasouentela mortalsaetDiego, Fine Arts Gallery; fig. 6), where the
in a coffeehouse,see
ta.<<For a similarproposition
theengraving
fortunesof love and gamblingcoincide, a nobleby G. VolpatoafterFrancescoMaggiotto.For thegrasp,see Longhi'sPerfumeSeller
man stares lustfullyat a woman disguised as
268

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10. PietroLonghi,The SickLadyVenice,Ca' Rezzonico

lazzo Rezzonico; fig.7) and the Temptation
(Hartford,Wadsworth AtheneumMuseum; fig.
8). The intensityof these stares is certainlyless
gentilethan the ,pupille amabili<53 exchangedin
the previous examples and much closer to the
lascivio in ziro e seducente< describedby
,ochio Maria Labia"4. The lustfulmonk in the
Angelo
Temptationand the panderingteacherin the GeographyLesson were well-known objects of satire, and hence are easy to interpret,or at leasttheir
intentionsare. The monk's gaze may seem improbable fora realisticnarrative,in thatit goes unnoticed by everyone,but it may simply be a visual
equivalentof the dramaticaside. Both serveto inform the audience or viewer of certainthoughts
withoutbeingheard or seen by others.
Unfortunatelygestureswiththe armsand hands
are more difficultto read. They are like dialects,
varyingso widely by regionthattheybecome incomprehensibleiftransported,which may be one
reason why Longhi's clientelewas predominantly
Venetian. Emphaticgesturesoftensignifyuniversally, but many of the tentativemovementsby

definition
to allowaccurate
Longhilacksufficient
The Faint,however,is unusual
interpretations.
becauseits gestureshavegreaterresolutionthan
mostpaintings
by Longhi.The r6lesof thelady
withsmellingsaltsand theprotective
gentleman
areexplicit,
butthoseofthetwoprincipal
actorsthenoblemanandfainted
woman- arelessclear,
eventhoughtheyaredistinctly
posed.
The noblemanseemsto have been thecatalyst
- rightarmand
forthefainting
spell.His gesture
withpalmup; lefthandon chesthandextended
directedto theladywho hasfaintedindicatesthe
It is repeatedintwoof
natureofhisintervention.
forthePasPietroAntonioNovelli'sillustrations
qualieditionofGoldoni'scollectedworks(figs.9
and 10). By 1761Novellihaddesigneda seriesof
eachshowinga scenefromthecomeengravings,
(Venice,Palazzo Rezzonico)witha pairofamorous
dogs,the Quack (Venice,Rezzonico),theRidotto
(Venice,GalleriaQuerini)andtheRidotto(SegromignoMonte,SalomCollection).
53 Pignatti,
Longhi,89.
Antologia
54 In La Moda Corrente.
EugenioVittoria,
dellaliricaVeneziana,Venice,n. d., 33.
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11. PietroLonghi,The Tickle.Castagnola,Thyssen-Bornemisza

Collection

dy by Goldonito whichit servedas antiporto55.liation with Milord Murrai,by droppinghis

out
Since they were commissioned by Goldoni's sword,placinghandto heartand stretching

friendGiambattistaPasquali as illustrationsfora
>natural<<theater, it seems probable that they
faithfullyrepresentstage practice, includingthe
use of gestures56.
In La Scozzese, Lindana has fal-

For Novelli,see In MortedelSignorPietroAntonio

e PoetaChiamatoinArcadia
NovelliCelebrePittore
ParrasideoVisionedi GiuseppeAvelloni,
Arristeno
A.
Venice,1804(stillthemostcomplete
biography);
Arban,>Aggiuntealla graficadi PierAntonioNoleninlovewithMilordMurrai,whojusthappens
dei MuseiCiviciVeneziani,1970,
velli,<<Bollettino
to be herfather's
forhisconnemesis,responsible
1-17; A. Arban,>>L'attivith
padovanadi PierAntodemnation to death and consequent flight to
nio Novelli,<<ArteVeneta,XXIV, 1970,185-198.
America. Unknown to Lindana, Conte di Ster- 56 GoldoniwrotewithapprovalthatNovelli'sengrale res ettiveO ereistoriandovings>> recederanno
lingh,herfather,has returnedto London aftersix
ne nela migliorformaiiprincipaleargomento.*
Act
scene
4
the
exile.
with
Conte
in
5,
years
opens
(Goldoni,Opere,XIV, 471) For Goldoni'sscenoand Milordduelingwithswords.Lindanaenters
in general,seeR. Longhi,>Un possibilescegraphy
infearthatherlover'slifeis in danger:
nografoper il Goldoni,<<StudiGoldoniani,ed. V.
BrancaandN. Mangini,Venice,1957,II, 755-759;
,Lindana: Ah! Milord,chi v'insulta,chi vi assalisce?
dellecommediegoldoniaE. Bassi,*Le illustrazioni
ah miopadre!(si gettaai piedidel Conte).
ne ed il loroambiente
culturale,<<StudiGoldoniani,
Conte: AhmiaFiglia!(si lasciacaderla spadaed abed. N. Mangini,Venice,1973,III, 115-124;R. AlebracciaLindana)57.
wyn,>>GoldonisTheater,<<Problemeund Gestalte,
1974,47f;F. Mancini,M. T. Muraro,E.
thismomentofrecognition Frankfurt,
Novellihasillustrated
Povoledo, Illusionee Pratica Teatrale,Vicenza,
when paternallove overcomes a political and fa1975,118-123.
evincesthis s7 Goldoni, La Scozzese (V, 4); in Opere, VII,
milialfeud(fig.9). Contedi Sterlingh
dramaticconversion,
whichleadsto his reconci1280-1281.
270

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12. Pietro Longhi,Milord's Visitor.New York, Metropolitan

Museum
his arm to his daughter.In the engravingfor La
Finta Ammalata, Novelli shows two quack physicians, Buonatesta and Malfatti,as they take the
pulse of Rosaura, who has faintedonto a chair
(fig. 10). >I1 polso balza;<< >I1 polso e sintomatico<<5. The surgeon Tarquino, identifiedby
the knifehe holds, responds: >>Sangue,sangue.<<
These imposters, who unsuccessfully treat
Rosaura, are distinguishedfromherlovingfather,
Pantalone, who asks Dr. Onesti for his verdict.
His ironic replyis: >>Chebisogno avete di me, se
vostra figliae assistitada tantivirtuosi
signori?,
True to his name, Onesti laterclarifiesRosaura's
as
thus
he
is
shown
withhis
malady love-inspired,
hand on his chest, indicatingthat his opinion is
heartfeltwhich in goldonian terms means he is
honest"9.The topic of his attention,Rosaura or
the quacks, is indicatedwithhis righthand.
The pose of thefaintedwoman recallsthatof the
Sick Lady (Venice, Palazzo Rezzonico; fig.11) by
Longhi. A doctortakesherpulse, but sciencewill
be frustratedby the emotional originsof her ill-

ness. Like Rosaura in La Finta Ammalata, she is

love-sick and indicatesthe natureof her problem
by touchingher heart.Their attitudesare also similar to the young man in the Tickle (Lugano,
Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection; fig. 12). He
slouches in a chair and awaits an arousing tickle
froman attractiveyoung lady, who cautions the
viewerto be quiet so as not to disturbthe sleeping
man. The meaningof thescene can be understood
semantically.The Tickle may representan innocent diversion,but it signifiessexual arousal, titilare meaningnot only >>totickle<<but also >to titilate<<.The coyness of thisdouble-entendreis capturedby the gigglinggirlsand helps to explainthe
popularity of the tickle theme during the 18th
century60. The explanatoryverses commissioned
Goldoni,La Fintaammalata(III, 15); in Opere,III,
703-704.
19JohannJakobEngel,Ideenzu einerMimif,Berlin,
1785,314.
60 For Venetian
examples,see DomenicoMaggiotto,
PastoralScene (Hamburg,Kunsthalle),Giuseppe
58

271

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ding on the contextor perceptionof nuance66.

couldbe comThus,evenifourgestural
illiteracy
the
action
of
The
Faintwould
corrected,
pletely
probablyremainambiguous.Indeeditseemsthat
introduced
ambivalent
Longhiintentionally
gesfanciulle
cheturbando
andate
>>Vaghe
turesdesignedto inciteour curiosity.In the
Conischerzo
gentil
riposo.
l'altrui
Dance Lesson (Venice,Accademia),the dance
Quantoprediceal corfuocoamoroso
masterpointsinstructively
to his pupil's right
<
invoirarabeltate.
Quellanascente
athergroin.In Milord's
foot,butsimultaneously
ofthe Visitor(New York, Metropolitan
The manmaynotbe justa passiverecipient
Museum;fig.
rather
he couldhaveencouraged 13) a servantintroduces
a youngwomanalso by
ladies'attention;
theirgamebyfeigning
wo- indicating
hergroin.A girlinthePolenta(Venice,
sleep.Likethefainted
man,thestateofsleepis notentirely
convincing Palazzo Rezzonico; fig. 14) pointsbothto her
his breastand her friend.One of her male comsincehe is in factpeekingat one ladythrough
lefteye.Thisflirtatious
ruserecallsonedescribed panionsignoresthisinvitation,
enhancedby the
by GiovanniBonifacioin a virtuallyunknown rod heldin herotherhand,and insteadlavishes
treatiseon gesture,L'Arte de' Cenni (Vicenza, attention
on a suggestively
shapedmoundofpo1616),inwhichMecenatetriedto seducethewife lentadough,butthenhe is nottheobjectofher
of Galba by feigningsleep with eyes slightly gaze- thevieweris. Individually
theseandsimilar
opened61.
byvirtueoftheirdisexamplesmaybe ambiguous
It maybe assumedthatdeceptionand love also cretion,but when the syntaxand contextare
underlietheactionof TheFaint,afterall Longhi maintained
a seriesofpaintings,
a libithroughout
As the dinousintent
was bestknownfor>>ischerzi
mustbe suspected.As theinitialind'amore<<62.
inLa Locandieraremarks: nocenceof thesedigitalgesturesdissolvesinto
Cavalieredi Ripafratta
veroo fintochefosse, suggestive
>>Epoi quellosvenimento
thevieweris leftpoised
alternatives,
Yet love need betweena presumptionof innocenceand the
d'amore?<<
non e segnomanifesto
not be theimmediate
causeforfainting.
Andrea suspicionoflewdity.The uncertainty
provokesa
inhistreatise
Dell'ArteRappresentativagiggle.Whereasa generalcomicintentcanbe disPerrucci,
of 1699, wrotethatwhen the hand is brought cernedin thesepoignantgestures,
whosehumor
theirspelimplyto the chestof a supineperson,it is a liesin theirunanticipated
implications,
Has the noblemanbrought cificcontent
is impossible
toproveandeventoingestureof shame63.
newsthathasdeeplyembarrassed
her?Ifthenoble- tuite.Forexample,is theservant
inMilord'sVisiman in Longhi'sFaintis as honestor lovingas tor(fig.13) indicating
theyoungwoman'ssexual
thenwhydoes the availability
Onestior Contedi Sterlingh,
or perhapsthegrowing
consequences
youngman tryto protectthe faintedwoman?
Does she deserveprotection?
AlthoughsheproilBerlin,antiquarian;
Angeli,TheTickle(formerly
in
her
order
to
recollect
herself
and
swoon
>>La PitturaVenetadel
lustrated
in R. Pallucchini,
longs
alla MostraItinerante
di Chicago-Minassessthesituation,thisdoes not meanthatshe
Settecento
ArteVeneta,XXIV, 1970,292);
neapolis-Toledo,<
has a dishonestcharacter.
She is a cleverwoman
Pietro Rotari, The Tickle (Munich, Bayerische
usingherincapacityformanipulative Staatsgem~ildesammlungen,
certainly,
AltePinakothek).
purposes,but her actioncould be generated
by 61 GiovanniBonifacio,L'Artede' Cenniconla qvalle
love and thusbe justifiable.
Who mightshelove:
formandosifavellavisibile,Vicenza, 1616, 111.
62
n. p.
themanbehindherwhoattracts
hersurreptitious A. Longhi,Compendio,
Perrucci,
Del!' ArteRappresentativa
Premeditata
Even ifone understands 63 A.
glanceor herdefender?
ed all' Improvviso
(Naples,1699),ed. A. G. Bragathe gesturalvocabulary,itsmultivalence
assures
glia,Florence,1961,123.
64 J. B. Dubos, Riflexions
Paris,1719,III,
critiques,
ambiguity.
16; Engel,Mimif,231-239.
critiAccordingtoJ.B. Dubos inhisR4flexions
123: ?Quando il persoareinherently 65 Perrucci, Rappresentativa,
d'institution<<
quesof1719,>>gestes
o momnaggioparlasolo seco stesso,o esortandosi
o riprendendosi
si facciacon la mano
ambiguous and hence frequentlymisunder- miserandosi,
con le diteil petto.<<
curvatoccandosileggermento
Perrucci
notedthata handplacedtoone's
stood64.
Mimif,letterIX.
canbe usedon a variety 66 See also Engel,
chest,liketheprocurator,
JohnSpiegaland PavelMachotka,Messages of the
As mostpeople knowfromperof occasions65.
Body,N. Y., 1974;DesmondMorris,PeterCollet
sonal experience,
and PeterMarsh,Gestures:theirorigins
and distrigesturesrarelyhavethepreciN. Y., 1979.
bution,
sionofwordssincemeanings
canoverlapdepenafterLonghiallude
by Wagnerfortheengraving
to theobviouslinguistic
Somno,Juplay(>>Juvat
vat IndulgereSopori<<),
and expanding
upon the
senseofthisintroductory
line:

272

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13. PietroLonghi,Polenta.Venice,Ca' Rezzonico

of a past affairor what?The uncertaintyprobably

appealed to the Venetians.
Intrigueadded vitalityto the politicallyunproductivelivesofthenobilityand relievedanythreat
of boredom. Social pleasures constitutedan importantcommunalreality,hencepatriciansshared
a heightenedsensibilityto social innuendo. Those
giftsof subterfugethatonce allowed Venice to become one of Europe's most sophisticateddiplomatic and commercialpowers were pervertedin
the 18thcenturyto serve relativelyinconsequential affairs,hence ordinarysocial situationscould
become chargedwitha significance,usually amorous. Intrigueenflamesthe imagination.The reality of suspicion, rumorand gossip is essentially
subjective, appealing to unresolved possibilities
but deflatedby truth.
SimilarlyLonghi's Faint containsmultiplereso-

lutions,unlikeany of thefaintsdescribedby Goldoni, and thereinlies its interest.As an equivocal

image, it could become a conversationpiece (in
the modernsense) withtheviewersprovidingdifferentscenarios. The Faint could stimulatedisplays ofwit and ingenuityas patricianspropounded a varietyof more or less plausible interpretations. Each viewercould thusbecome a humorist,
unravellinga different
plot, suitedto his temperament and expectations.Goldoni, in frontof The
Faint, could have easily discovered a scene from
one of his plays, or ifhe wished to furtherexercise
his imagination,he could also have inventedan
entirelynew play aroundthepainting.Thus when
Goldoni invoked Longhi as his muse, some truth
may have been retainedin his conventionalfigure
of speech: ,Longhi, tu che la mia musa sorella
chiami...<<

273

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