Both this and the following lot are fine examples of the genre of painting in which Gherardo specialised.
Their fantastical cityscapes or capricci are populated with bustling figures, their compositions heavily inspired by the engravings of Jacques Callot and Stefano della Bella.
Although Gherardo was born in Florence, both artists were active for most of their lives in Pisa and a number of their capricci are inspired by real views of the squares in either Pisa or Florence, thus appealing to both local and foreign patrons alike. His paintings are inspired by both
from the "ruinismo" of Panini and from the "vedutismo" of Sebastiano and Marco Ricci

Comparative bibliography
F. Canepa, Gherardo e Giuseppe Poli: la pittura di capriccio nella Toscana di primo Settecento,
Ospedaletto 2002.