Pignatti 1969, p.105 MAGRATH THE GIANT AND THE RHINOCEROS. Plate 209c. Oil on canvas, 50.5×64 cm. Perhaps from the Count Mapelli collection, Bergamo. This unpublished work is a composition to the Forlana. Longhi had evidently been commissioned to repeat two earlier works (pl. 116 and 179). In fact the original descriptions appear here as a reminder. The painting appears in a good state of preservation. Showing the deeper tones of the late period, with vibrant touches of light in the faces and clothes.
*Painting: Magrath the giant was dated 1757, in Ca’Rezzonico [Internet: Pietro Longhi, 1757, “True portrait of the Giant Cornelio Magrat the Irishman; he came to Venice in the year 1757; born 1st January 1737, he is 7 feet tall and weighs 420 pounds. Painted on commission from the Noble Gentleman Giovanni Grimani dei Servi, Patrician of Venice.” Museo di Rezzonico, Venice.]
