PIER CELESTINO GILARDI Lot n° 716

Campertogno, 1837 - Borgosesia, 1905 The drinker Signed P C Gilardi and dated 1890 lower left Oil on panel, 33X24 cm Provenance: Turin, Galleria d'Arte Fogliato Turin, private collection Pier Celestino Gilardi was a pupil of Andrea Gastaldi at the Accademia Albertina in Turin, and succeeded him as professor of painting in 1873. A member of the Circolo degli Artisti since 1864, he took part in many exhibitions in Italy and abroad, painting mainly genre scenes with figures in interiors, but also landscapes and country views, and demonstrating inventive and descriptive skills with pleasing analytical qualities in the reconstruction of environments and much humour and psychological depth in describing his subjects. He began his career with historical subjects, which were very fashionable at the time, and then turned his taste towards so-called genre themes: his Una partita alla morra, which appeared at the London International Exhibition of 1874, was bought in Turin by Vittorio Emanuele II. In the painting in the catalogue an elegant gentleman, in a beautiful garden, is intent on enjoying his glass of wine: every detail is carefully detailed and the colour skilfully dosed.