Adolphe Joseph Thomas Monticelli

(Marseille 1824 - ivi 1886) signed

Animated Scene in a Garden

Oil on panel

30 x 46 cm

Frame 45.5 x 63 cm

An artist from an Italian family, Milanese in particular, Adolphe Monticelli was born in 1824 in Marseille, where he attended the local academy, before deciding to move to Paris to the prestigious École des Beaux-Arts, becoming a pupil of Paul Delaroche.

When he met Narcisse Diaz, a member of the Barbizon school, in 1855, he joined this group of painters who loved to leave their painting studios to paint outdoors, in front of the natural model, which allowed him to find sincere inspiration, along the lines that, a few years later, would lead to the Impressionist phenomenon.

The author of fantastic themes and gallant scenes lit by vibrant touches of light, Monticelli developed a true predilection for ladies and knights, linked in places of rocaille derivation and dominated by a profound elegance, such as the one under consideration.

Contrary to academic precepts, he painted with daring brushstrokes, rebelling against the usual smooth precision, he loved to play with colour, using it in various gradations within a single painting, using these techniques to create romantic scenes and landscapes of parks and gardens bathed in light, without preparatory drawing, with a personal and lively manner of dense and sketchy brushstrokes, inspired by certain sketches by Eugène Delacroix

Monticelli had often adopted Diaz's practice of introducing imagined nudes or elegantly dressed figures into his landscapes, with a singular alienating effect.

Belonging to the generation immediately preceding the Impressionists, he was greatly admired by Van Gogh, to the point of becoming one of his reference points.

After 1870, Monticelli returned to Marseille, where he would live in poverty, despite a vast and interesting production. A move that cost the painter a great deal, as it would only take him a few years, still in Paris, to catch on to the new Impressionist market and begin to achieve well-deserved success.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

The painting is sold with a certificate of authenticity and descriptive iconographic card.

We take care of and organise the transport of the purchased works, both for Italy and abroad, through professional and insured carriers.

Please contact us for any information, we will be happy to answer you.

In case of purchase of the work by non-Italian customers, it will be necessary to obtain an export permit, which takes about 10/20 days; our gallery will take care of the whole phase until it is obtained. All costs of this operation are included.

Follow us also on :