Made in tempera on cardboard, “Reader” is a significant work in the production of Carlo Corsi, an artist active between the late nineteenth century and the first half of the twentieth century, deeply connected to the Bolognese cultural context. This painting, moreover, fits coherently within his figurative research.
The work depicts a young woman lying down, captured in an intimate and silent moment of reading. However, more than the narration of the action, Corsi seems to privilege compositional balance and chromatic rendering. In fact, the figure integrates harmoniously with the surrounding environment, constructed through dense colour fields, rapid touches and a warm palette, dominated by ochres, greens and muted reds. Moreover, tempera allows the artist an opaque and vibrant application, capable of conveying a sense of domestic quiet.
From a stylistic point of view, the work reflects the artist’s adherence to a modern yet measured figuration. In particular, his language lies between post-impressionist suggestions and a lyrical realism, far from expressive excesses. At the same time, a strong attention to the psychological dimension of the subject emerges, conveyed through the collected attitude and natural posture of the figure.
Therefore, “Reader” represents a coherent example of Carlo Corsi’s poetics, in which intimacy, colour and everyday lifemerge into a balanced and conscious vision. Consequently, tempera takes on value not only as an autonomous work, but also as a testimony to Italian painting between tradition and modernity.
Description: Tempera on cardboard, signed lower left “C. Corsi”, bearing on the reverse an authentication inscription and a label with provenance Galleria La Colonna – Rome, H cm 30×35.
Hammer Price: € 4.464,00
Online Auction 16 – 19th and 20th Century Paintings, contemporary arts, graphics and multiples
All the works by Carlo Corsi presented at auction
Discover all the top lots from our 19th and 20th Century paintings auctions!
Do you own a work by Carlo Corsi ? Request a free valuation now!
Contact us:
