(Rome 1860–1932)
A spring evening, inscribed and dated on the reverse G. A. Sartorio Roma 1902, signed G.A. Sartorio,
mixed media on cardboard, 54.5 x 45 cm, framed, (GG)

Provenance:
Private Collection Italy, acquired in the 1980´s.

The date on the reverse of the present lot indicates that it was painted in 1902. It can be connected to the composition depicting the Wise and Foolish virgins, which was painted in 1890-91. It is a remarkable painting and one of the artist’s major works. According to the Gospel of Matthew, the five virgins who are prepared for the bridegroom’s arrival are rewarded, whilst the five who are not prepared are disowned. “Be prepared for the last judgment”: This parable was very popular in the Middle Ages and has remained a popular subject for painting ever since.

The Italian Pre-Raphaelite artists were active in Rome at the end of the 19th century, and artists such as Sartorio were influenced by the English Pre-Raphaelitism and particularly by Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828-1882) and Edward Burne-Jones (1833-1898).

Sartorio depicted the idea of the return to nature and made use of symbolism to give spiritual value to painting, such as in the present lot. The fragile and mysterious feminine beauty of this work is a delightful example of the artist’s main focus in the 1890’s.