Francesco Fidanza (1747-1819) - Marina in tempesta

Francesco Fidanza, Marina in tempesta, Francesco Fidanza was the son of Filippo (circa 1720–1790), a painter from Città di Castello who was a pupil of Marco Benefial. His brother Gregorio (1759–1823), also a landscape painter, was a disciple of Claude Lorrain, but his paintings did not achieve the emotional impact of Francesco's. Antonio Fidanza, Gregorio's son, was an art dealer and restorer at the Pinacoteca di Brera. Another of Francesco's brothers, Giuseppe (1750–1820), was also a painter.

In 1793, Francesco Fidanza went to Florence, and then in 1800, he moved to Paris, where his paintings featuring snowy landscapes and seascapes were known and appreciated.

It is not certain that he was a student of Claude Joseph Vernet and later of Charles Francois Lacroix (known as Lacroix of Marseille), but he certainly knew their works and was influenced by Vernet's art, who, on behalf of Louis XV, painted a series of fifteen French ports. Two winter landscapes painted in oil, kept in private collections—one signed 'F. Fidanza fece 1796'—demonstrate the artist's already established and confident style.
Executed on metal, it is of particular suggestion, retains a remarkable polish and extraordinary conservation state, and has developed a very fine craquelure, typical of metal painting of the period. It is signed at the back and dated 1780, measuring 52cm x 39cm with frame.