Kids and Lambs

Born in the parish of Sant’Alessandro in Milan, Francesco Londonio specialised in genre painting and was also appointed by Maria Theresa of Austria as draughtsman and stage designer for the La Scala opera house. These paintings, studies and finished works are just eight of the thirty-five in the Ambrosiana collection. The subjects are all rustic in nature, probably in part because they were commissioned by landowners, and include studies of kids and lambs, cows’ heads and still lifes with vegetables, creating tranquil and possibly rather idealised scenes of the everyday life of peasants and shepherds. The subjects and techniques place this painter in the transitional period between Arcadia and the Enlightenment.