Lot 11
  • 11

EMILIO LONGONI | White lake and black lake, Bernina pass

Estimate
60,000 - 80,000 EUR
bidding is closed

Description

  • White lake and black lake, Bernina pass
  • Signed lower right Emilio Longoni ; On the reverse, bears an old label with the number 110
  • Oil on panel
  • 46 x 93 cm ; 39  1/8 by 36  9/16 in.

Condition

Oil on canvas laid on panel, which is lightly bowed concave along the upper and lower edges and otherwise appears to be stable. Ultra-violet light reveals strokes of retouching along the framing edges, a number of small spots in the upper-left quadrant, and a couple in the upper centre; other fluorescence appears to be attributable to the artist's pigments rather than restoration. This work is in good overall condition and ready to hang. The colours in the original are much subtler and finer than in the catalogue illustration, with less yellow in the greens and a subtler blue in the water.
"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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Catalogue Note

Like his compatriots and friends Giovanni Segantini and Gaetano Previati, whom he met during his artistic training at the Accademia di Brera in Milan, Emilio Longoni adopts, in the early 1890s, the precepts of divisionist landscape painting. He is considered, alongside painters such as Giovanni Segantini, Giuseppe Pellizza da Volpedo, Angelo Morbelli or Plinio Nomellini, as one of the major members of Italian Divisionism, carrying on the movement until the 1930s. As a lover of mountains, Longoni offers here, in an ambitious and mastered vision, a characteristic divisionist landscape : a panoramic view, in which he concentrates his attention on the atmospheric effects as well as on the peculiar divisionist technique : fragmented and linear brushstrokes, which animate the surface of the canvas. The two lakes on the Bernina Pass, famous for their contrasting blue tones, one dark - the black lake - and the other milky - the white lake - seem to vibrate in the nebulous light of the landscape.

We would like to thank Mrs Giovanna Ginex, Emilio Longoni's specialist, for kindly confirming the authenticity of this work on the basis of a photograph.