Federico Zandomeneghi, 1841 Venedig – 1917 Pa... Lot n° 691

La Liseuse, c. 1890 Oil on canvas. 27,5 x 22,5 cm Signed lower right. In gilded frame. Captivated by her reading, a girl bends attentively over her book, ignoring any outside gaze. She sits on a low chair in the middle of a garden in profile to the left. She is wearing a short summer dress belted with a bow around her waist, with a sailor collar, patent leather pumps and black stockings; with this attire, the sitter belongs to the upper class of the bourgeoisie. Her long red hair is partially held in place by a small chignon at the top of her head, and the rest of her hair falls naturally over her shoulders. Her pose, while intimate and natural, retains the poise of her background and the reserve of her social circle. This girl occupies the entire composition. A portrait of an age rather than a specific person, this girl belongs to a tradition of reading women that combines idleness and study, reflecting education in the bourgeois world. The color palette is in Fauvist colors, predominantly orange like her hair. Painting in a rapid brushstroke that provides the composition with small, fine hatchings that look like flames, bathing the sunny scene in a bright light under the open sky. This impressionist portrait bears witness to the legacy of Renoir and Degas. (†) Provenance: Durand-Ruel, Paris, no. 3254 (acquired by the artist). Private collection. Sale Sotheby's, Milan, June 20, 2005, lot 142; acquired at this auction by the father of the present owner, then by descendants to the present owner. European private collection. Literature: Enrico Piceni, Zandomeneghi, Milan 1967, no. 58. Enrico Piceni, Zandomeneghi, Milan 1991, no. 58. Camilla Testi, Maria Grazia Piceni, Enrico Piceni (eds.), Federico Zandomeneghi. Catalogo generale, Milan 2006, pp. 151 and 320, no. 560 (fig. LXXV). (13309328) (18) Federico Zandomeneghi, 1841 Venice - 1917 Paris LA LISEUSE, CA. 1890 Oil on canvas. 27.5 x 22.5 cm. Signed lower right. (†) Provenance: Durand-Ruel, Paris, no. 3254 (acquired directly from the artist). Private collection. Auction, Sotheby's, Milan, 20 June 2005, lot 142; acquired at this auction by the father of the current owner, then inherited by the current owner. European private collection. Literature: Enrico Piceni, Zandomeneghi, Milan 1967, no. 58. Enrico Piceni, Zandomeneghi, Milan 1991, no. 58. Camilla Testi, Maria Grazia Piceni, Enrico Piceni (ed.), Federico Zandomeneghi. Catalogo generale, Milan 2006, p. 151 and 320, no. 560 (ill. LXXV).