Morning, oil on canvas by Alfredo Protti, 1913.

Alfredo Protti (1882-1949), “Morning”, 1913.

The painting “Morning” (1913) by Alfredo Protti represents one of the most emblematic works of the mature phase of the Bolognese artist, fully placed within the figurative climate of early twentieth-century Italian art. The painting shows a female figure captured in an intimate moment of everyday life, within a carefully defined domestic space.

The scene, in fact, depicts a young woman in the act of getting ready in the morning, immersed in a soft and diffused light that envelops the room. The wrought-iron bed, the small table with toilette objects, and the delicate colour range help to create a suspended, silent, and intimate atmosphere. Moreover, the posture of the figure, slightly bent and seen in profile, emphasizes a sense of naturalness and introspection.

From a stylistic point of view, the work reflects Protti’s training between naturalism and symbolism, with clear references to European Intimist painting. However, the artist maintains a personal style, recognizable in the delicate rendering of the surfaces and in the controlled modulation of light. At the same time, colour is used not in a descriptive function, but to suggest moods and sensory perceptions.

Therefore, Morning stands as a work of great formal and narrative balance, capable of synthesizing Alfredo Protti’s poetics and testifying to his role within the Italian artistic panorama of the early twentieth century.

Description:Oil on canvas, signed and dated lower left “A. Protti 1913”, bears on the back the label of the retrospective exhibition “Alfredo Protti” held at the Museo Civico – Bologna and a label with provenance “Private Collection Giorgio Cavazza”, H cm 123×87 – with frame H cm 143×109.
Publication: “Alfredo Protti”, catalogue produced on the occasion of the retrospective exhibition on the artist held at the Museo Civico – Bologna from 16 September to 24 October 1971, p. 41, img. 57.
Provenance: Cavazza Private Collection.