Philipp Peter Roos, dit Rosa da Tivoli (1657-1706), Attributed to - Le troupeau au repos - XL FORMAT

Important large-format oil on canvas attributed to Philipp Peter Roos (1657-1706), known as Rosa da Tivoli, a prominent German painter active in Italy and especially famed for his pastoral landscapes and animal-centered compositions.

Philipp Peter Roos was born in Sankt Goar in 1657 and died in Rome in 1706. He belonged to an important family of painters: he was the son of Johann Heinrich Roos, a renowned specialist in landscapes and animals. He spent much of his career in Italy, where he achieved notable notoriety and was closely associated with the town of Tivoli, from which the surname by which he passed into art history, “Rosa da Tivoli,” originates. The Metropolitan Museum of Art identifies him as a German artist active in Italy and holds works of his dated from the late 17th century to the early 18th.

The painting represents a wide pastoral landscape with livestock, conceived following a typology characteristic of Roos’s production. In the foreground appears a plentiful group of animals consisting of cows, sheep, goats, and a herding dog, arranged in what seems an informal, yet carefully balanced manner within the composition.

The monumental cow placed in the center constitutes the main visual axis of the scene. Its powerful silhouette, partially illuminated, organizes the group and creates a strong contrast with the animals gathered in areas of deeper shadow. Around it, sheep lie down, goats and bovines are portrayed, each treated individually with particular attention to anatomy, the different textures of fur, and the typical attitudes of each species.

This prominence given to the animals is precisely one of the fundamental elements of the artistic language associated with Rosa da Tivoli. His pastoral compositions integrate flocks and cattle within Italianate landscapes, continuing a tradition developed during the 17th century by various Northern European painters established in Italy. The British Museum, for example, holds a Roos composition in which a shepherd, goats, sheep, and a cow appear in an open landscape, illustrating the importance of this repertoire within his work.

The landscape itself also plays an essential role. Behind the group of animals opens a view of mountains and partially ruined buildings, while a large tree on the right acts as a vertical element providing balance to the composition. The sky, built with broad masses of cloud, adds depth and a brightness that contrasts with the intensely shaded foreground.

The lighting is particularly characteristic of the Baroque tradition: certain zones of the animals receive bursts of light, making their backs, heads, and fleeces emerge from the darkness, generating a strong sense of volume and an atmosphere of notable intensity. The palette, dominated by earth tones, browns, ochres, dark greens, and bluish grays, contributes to the grave, naturalistic character of the whole.

Thus the work combines landscape, animal painting, and pastoral sensibility within a conception deeply linked to Italian Baroque and to the tradition of German and Dutch painters active in Rome during the 17th century.

The attribution to Philipp Peter Roos, Rosa da Tivoli, is stylistically coherent with the theme and the language of the composition; however, it is prudently presented as an attributed work, not as a fully documented authorship, since there is no academic study, historical documentation, or certificate that would allow a definitive establishment.

Due to its large dimensions, the abundance of animal figures, the depth of the landscape, and the intensity of its illumination, this is a painting of notable presence, conceived within a large-format decorative tradition intended for representative interiors.

Condition: appreciable, detailed in the photographs. The surface shows craquelure, wear, and alterations typical of an old painting. It is recommended to evaluate the general state using the images provided, which are an essential part of the lot description.

The work is mounted in a historicist frame, whose black-and-gold combination is especially suited to the aesthetic of old paintings.

The frame is offered as a gift with the work and has no commercial value. For this reason, its condition and any potential damage that could occur during transport cannot be the subject of a claim or compensation.

Overall, we are looking at an important and monumental pastoral scene attributed to Rosa da Tivoli, of strong Baroque character and notable decorative quality, especially attractive for the richness of the animal repertoire, the powerful lighting construction, and its close stylistic relationship with one of the leading European specialists in animal painting of the late 17th century.

For shipments outside the European Union, additional customs, taxes, or import duties may apply, which will be the buyer’s responsibility and will depend on the destination country’s legislation.