Lot 43
  • 43

Emilio Vasarri

Estimate
30,000 - 50,000 USD
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Description

  • Emilio Vasarri
  • Fontinales: Fête des Fontaines
  • signed EVasarri (lower right); center horizontal panel signed EVasarri (lower left)
  • oil on canvas, with three painted panels set in its original frame
  • 34 1/4 by 60 in. (75 by 56 in. with frame)
  • 87 by 152.4 cm (190.5 by 142.2 cm)

Provenance

Private Collection, Iowa (sale, Christie's, New York, October 29, 1986, lot 146, illustrated)
Acquired circa 1990

Exhibited

Paris, Salon, 1905, no. 1868

Condition

Unlined. Isolated stable vertical lines of craquelure to center figures. ½ inch small patch in upper right quadrant of the reverse. Under UV: area of inpainting in upper left corner and to the wall left of the vase at center, which corresponds to the aforementioned patch on reverse. A few specks of inpainting to the right panel inset into the lower edge of the frame.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Catalogue Note

Exhibited at the 1905 Salon, Emilio Vasarri’s skills as a brilliant colorist and his meticulous attention to detail are on full display in the present work, as is his keen interest in antiquity.  Vasarri portrays the antique festival of Fontinales, a celebration in honor of Fontus, the Roman god of wells and springs, by adorning fountains with garlands.  Many of the objects and motifs Vasarri includes in the present work demonstrate his knowledge of the antique past and, like Lawrence Alma-Tadema (see lot 47), his familiarity with museum collections.  The pottery askos derived from Roman bronze vessels and the red-figured hydria upon which rests the woman at the fountain relate to examples in the Naples National Archaeological Museum.  The figures in the background play ancient instruments, including the aulos (double flute with straps) as well as the kithara and barbiton (two types of stringed instruments). Details from the ancient city of Pompeii, whose theater is visible in the lower left predella, are spread throughout the composition. The bronze incense burner at left, the wall painting of two wine making erotes in the niche at right, and the mosaic floor medallion of the street musicians all were drawn from his knowledge of this ancient Italian city.