# Gaetano Gandolfi artist context and auction value notes

Canonical page: https://appraisily.com/artist/gaetano-gandolfi/
Profile generated: 2026-05-24T10:14:03.571Z
Quality: high confidence, strong sources

## Artist identity

- Birth date: 1734-08-30
- Death date: 1802-06-20
- Nationality: Italian
- Movements: Late Baroque
- Common media: oil on canvas, fresco, drawing, etching, sculpture

## About Gaetano Gandolfi

Gaetano Gandolfi (1734–1802) was an Italian painter, sculptor, draughtsman, and etcher who played a leading role in the late Baroque art of Bologna. Born on August 30, 1734, he trained under his older brother Ubaldo Gandolfi and became one of the most sought-after artists in Italy during the second half of the eighteenth century, receiving major commissions from courts across Europe. Gandolfi worked across a broad range of media—oil on canvas, fresco, drawing, printmaking, and sculpture—and is known for biblical, mythological, and allegorical compositions as well as portraits and figure studies. His work bridges the grand tradition of Bolognese Baroque painting and the emerging Neoclassical sensibility of his era. Today collectors encounter his paintings, drawings, and prints at auction and in museum collections worldwide.

## Common works and media

Collectors are most likely to encounter Gandolfi's oil paintings on canvas depicting mythological, biblical, and allegorical scenes, as well as portraiture. His preparatory drawings in pen, ink, and wash, along with figure studies in red and black chalk, appear frequently at auction. Gandolfi also produced etchings, and a smaller number of sculptural works are known. Fresco fragments from Bolognese church and palace commissions occasionally enter the market. The RKD records over 570 images attributed to him as creator, reflecting a substantial and varied body of work across media.

## Market and appraisal context

Gaetano Gandolfi's works appear regularly in the Old Master painting, drawing, and print categories at major auction houses. Oil paintings of mythological and religious subjects tend to carry the highest values, particularly when supported by strong provenance linking them to historic European collections. Drawings and etchings are more frequently encountered at auction and offer a more accessible entry point for collectors. Attribution can be challenging, as Gaetano's style is closely related to that of his brother Ubaldo and other members of the Gandolfi workshop; specialist examination is recommended for any work lacking established provenance. Condition, medium, subject, and documented exhibition or publication history all influence appraisal value.

## Appraisily data basis

Appraisily artist pages combine artist identity research from museum, library authority, and scholarly sources with auction records, auction-house context, sale dates, realized prices, and comparable lots when those records are available. For Gaetano Gandolfi, this page draws on the Getty Union List of Artist Names, the RKD (Netherlands Institute for Art History), VIAF, and Wikidata, supplemented by biographical context from Wikipedia.

## Sources

- RKD (Netherlands Institute for Art History): https://rkd.nl/en/explore/artists/30145
- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1491011
- Getty Vocabulary Program: https://vocab.getty.edu/page/ulan/500005315
- VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/69098170/
- Library of Congress: https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n88201880
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaetano_Gandolfi