Pelican

The work depicts a pelican almost certainly taken from life, against the background of a seascape bordered by a tree and a lighthouse.

Due to its decorative modules similar to Giacomo Nani's Shepherd with Sheep, the painting has been referred to the painter's first production, given the fixity of the gaze of the main subject portrayed, the crooked tree and the sketchy architecture that punctuates the landscape.

The canvas was identified as the one depicting a “large bird” cited in the “Inventory of the Real belongings existing in the Consolation warehouses”, where the paintings transferred from Carditello to Sicily after the Revolution of 1799 are recorded.

The work is documented at the Royal Palace of Caserta from 1905.