painting (oil): ["River Scene with Peasants"]

In the foreground, two men sit fishing on a river bank in a pool below a small waterfall. Standing beside them is a woman in red and another woman can be seen in the river behind her. To the left, a woman riding on a white horse drives two cows along a road. On the opposite bank, a man drives a small herd of cattle. Behind him in the distance is a mountainous landscape with a tower rising on the left. Virag 16/12/2004, Between 1984 and 1985, a research assistant, Dr. Brendan Cassidy, was employed by Nottingham Castle Museum to research and write a catalogue of the foreign oil paintings in their collection. The catalogue never materialised, but drafts and notes relating to Cassidy's research can be found in the Artist Files and in the Archive at the Museum. All references to Cassidy relate to these documents. There is a handwritten note in the file (presumably by Cassidy) which may refer to a label found on the reverse of NCM 1904-86 that was removed during restoration: "Zucarelli (sic) On paper 99M in blue pen" There is a handwritten note in the file (presumably by Cassidy) relating to the likely provenance of NCM 1904-86: Christie's, 28 July 1883, no. 15 by Zuccarelli: "A River Scene with Figures and Cattle", sold by Dibben [?], bought by Can [?] with two pictures for £1.14.0 On the front: The panel is unframed. There is a margin of approx. 1 cm between the paint and the edges of the panel. On the reverse: The panel does not have an accession mark on it. The painting was restored in 1984 by Jesse Bruton Picture Restoration, Wolverhampton. Among the findings were that the oak panel onto which the original canvas is glued was found to be very slightly bowed. The red ground was visible where paint had been rubbed away by harsh cleaning methods. Treatment included removing yellowed varnish and some overpaint which was disguising damage in the sky area. Paint loss was impainted and the work was revarnished. Virag 16/12/2004, Collection of Richard Godson Millns.