Parlour Scene by Vittorio Reggianini
Parlour Scene by Vittorio Reggianini
Vittorio Reggianini was an Italian artist who, like so many of the Florentine artists of the time, specialised in historical genre pieces. Reggianini’s works frequently depict elegant scenes of modern bourgeois life, as exemplified in this painting. The two female subjects are dressed in very elegant clothing surrounded by a highly ornate and luxurious interior.
MEDIUM: Oil on canvas
DIMENSIONS: 19.7 x 15.7 ins/ 50.0 x 40.0 cm
SIGNATURE: Signed ‘Reggianini’ (lower right)
Price: £POA.
Description
Vittorio Reggianini was an Italian artist who, like so many of the Florentine artists of the time, specialised in historical genre pieces. Reggianini’s works frequently depict elegant scenes of modern bourgeois life, as exemplified in this painting. The two female subjects are dressed in very elegant clothing surrounded by a highly ornate and luxurious interior.
You are immediately drawn to the artist’s skilful rendering of the fabrics, as seen in the shiny silk and delicate beading. The beautiful, colourful rug and marble wall leading up to the gold wallpaper only heighten the impression of a sumptuous effect to the overall vignette.
Reggianini’s paintings would often contain many incidental details, including in this work where you, as the viewer, are interestingly positioned as the person we see in the reflection in the mirror. We are unsure who the sitter is, or indeed what his connection to the party is, yet the expressions of the characters are playful and joyous, though the look on the woman in the green dress creates a sense of intrigue and mystery. The viewer is therefore left wondering what kind of exchanges.
Provenance
Private Collection, Pennsylvania
Biography
Born in Modena, Reggianini studied at the Modena Academy of Fine arts where later in his career he became a professor. After completing his artistic education, REggianini migrated south to Florence, apopular move for many of his contempories. In 1900 he painted a work entitled, ‘Tristis Matris Nati, Presago Finis’ for the Alinari Corcorso, a competition for young artists in which they had to design illustrations for a new publication of Dante’s ‘La Divina Commedia’. Reggianini also exhibited with the Florentine Art Association in 1907-1908 and once more in 1910-1911.
He was affiliated with artists such as Federico Andreotti (1847-1930 and Francesco Vinea (1845-1902) who chose similar subject and similar props for their paintings. At times these three artists even shared the same models, and would all inscribe the location of the work, ‘Firenze’ onto each painting.