Giacomo Ceruti
![Giacomo Ceruti - Old Master Paintings Giacomo Ceruti - Old Master Paintings](/fileadmin/lot-images/38A170425/normal/giacomo-ceruti-1095355.jpg)
(Milan 1698–1767)
A boy in a brown jacket, bust-length,
oil on canvas, 41.5 x 27.5 cm, framed
Provenance:
with Colnaghi, London;
sale, Christie’s, London, 18 December 1998, lot 33 (as Follower of Giacomo Francesco Cipper, il Todeschini);
Art market;
Private European collection
The present painting is registered in the Fototeca Zeri (no. 72223) as Giacomo Ceruti (Pitocchetto).
We are grateful to Filippo Ferro for confirming the attribution on the basis of a high resolution digital photograph.
This intriguing painting represents an excellent example of Giacomo Ceruti’s portraits. The young boy, depicted bust-length, is looking towards the viewer with a hint of a smile. The treatment of the face shows traits typical of Ceruti’s work, especially with regards to the passage gradation of the light tones on the skin to the pink cheeks, plump lips and well-defined eyes. The sparse background helps to underline the harsh realism of the image which, as was common in Ceruti’s works, also shows a slight psychological analysis of the character portrayed. The simplicity of the scene, along with the boy’s unadorned brown clothing and untidy hair, hints at his humble social background.
Originally from Milan, Giacomo Ceruti moved to Brescia in the early 1720s, where he remained for most of his career, working for both religious orders and private aristocratic commissioners. The artist is famous for his portraits of noblemen and prelates, and especially for his scenes depicting the humble and neglected working-class world. Figures like vagabonds (‘pitocchi’ (beggars), after which he was nicknamed), tramps, farmers, washer-women, spinners and young commoners were often the protagonists of his paintings. They were depicted in a way which was both simple and monumental, and was characterised by soft reflective tones in which the images of unknown people, depicted in all their dignity, became true portraits.
Among his most famous compositions belonging to this genre, is the series of paintings he made for the Avogadro family, which are now scattered between various private collections (see M. Gregori, Giacomo Ceruti, Cinisello Balsamo 1982, nn. cat. 49–53, 55, 57–67). Ceruti’s art has its roots in a complex artistic tradition that also bears the influence of Nordic painters such as Bernhard Keil and Pieter Snayers, as well as of Italian painters such as Pietro Bellotti and Antonio Cifrondi.
25.04.2017 - 18:00
- Estimate:
-
EUR 60,000.- to EUR 80,000.-
Giacomo Ceruti
(Milan 1698–1767)
A boy in a brown jacket, bust-length,
oil on canvas, 41.5 x 27.5 cm, framed
Provenance:
with Colnaghi, London;
sale, Christie’s, London, 18 December 1998, lot 33 (as Follower of Giacomo Francesco Cipper, il Todeschini);
Art market;
Private European collection
The present painting is registered in the Fototeca Zeri (no. 72223) as Giacomo Ceruti (Pitocchetto).
We are grateful to Filippo Ferro for confirming the attribution on the basis of a high resolution digital photograph.
This intriguing painting represents an excellent example of Giacomo Ceruti’s portraits. The young boy, depicted bust-length, is looking towards the viewer with a hint of a smile. The treatment of the face shows traits typical of Ceruti’s work, especially with regards to the passage gradation of the light tones on the skin to the pink cheeks, plump lips and well-defined eyes. The sparse background helps to underline the harsh realism of the image which, as was common in Ceruti’s works, also shows a slight psychological analysis of the character portrayed. The simplicity of the scene, along with the boy’s unadorned brown clothing and untidy hair, hints at his humble social background.
Originally from Milan, Giacomo Ceruti moved to Brescia in the early 1720s, where he remained for most of his career, working for both religious orders and private aristocratic commissioners. The artist is famous for his portraits of noblemen and prelates, and especially for his scenes depicting the humble and neglected working-class world. Figures like vagabonds (‘pitocchi’ (beggars), after which he was nicknamed), tramps, farmers, washer-women, spinners and young commoners were often the protagonists of his paintings. They were depicted in a way which was both simple and monumental, and was characterised by soft reflective tones in which the images of unknown people, depicted in all their dignity, became true portraits.
Among his most famous compositions belonging to this genre, is the series of paintings he made for the Avogadro family, which are now scattered between various private collections (see M. Gregori, Giacomo Ceruti, Cinisello Balsamo 1982, nn. cat. 49–53, 55, 57–67). Ceruti’s art has its roots in a complex artistic tradition that also bears the influence of Nordic painters such as Bernhard Keil and Pieter Snayers, as well as of Italian painters such as Pietro Bellotti and Antonio Cifrondi.
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Auction: | Old Master Paintings |
Auction type: | Saleroom auction |
Date: | 25.04.2017 - 18:00 |
Location: | Vienna | Palais Dorotheum |
Exhibition: | 15.04. - 25.04.2017 |