Created around 1893, “The Lovers” by Flavio Bertelli belongs to a central phase of his research, when the Bolognese artist developed a personal language close to the concerns of Symbolism and to the suggestions of late nineteenth-century lyrical landscape painting. In this work, in fact, the scene is not constructed through a detailed narrative, but through a suspended and rarefied atmosphere.
At the centre of the composition emerges the figure of a couple immersed in a twilight landscape. However, the contours are not sharp; on the contrary, the forms dissolve in the diffused light of sunset. Moreover, the presence of the low sun on the horizon introduces a meditative element, transforming the sentimental episode into a broader reflection on time and nature. Consequently, the amorous subject assumes a symbolic value, linked to the inner dimension rather than to realistic description.
Flavio Bertelli, trained in the Bolognese artistic environment and active between the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, stands out precisely for this attention to light as an emotional element. Therefore, also in “The Lovers” the colour is applied in subtle glazes, capable of unifying figures and landscape. At the same time, the choice of a horizontal layout reinforces the perception of vastness and silence.
In conclusion, the work testifies to a mature phase of Bertelli’s painting, in which the natural subject is interpreted as a poetic and contemplative space, consistent with Italian Symbolist research at the end of the century.
Description: Oil on canvas, signed lower centre Bertelli, H cm 42×64.
Notes: Bearing on the reverse label ‘Anthological Exhibition of Flavio Bertelli (1865-1941) on the fiftieth anniversary of his death – September/November 1991 – Catalogue entry no. 11 (photo p. 23)’ ‘Bottegantica – 19th-century paintings – Bologna’. Work accompanied by certificate of authenticity Dino Palmirani Antichità – Bologna.
Publication: Work published in ‘Flavio Bertelli (1865-1941) on the fiftieth anniversary of his death’ – Bottegantica, photo on p. 23 – Entry no. 11, p. 85.
Provenance: Private Collection – Bologna.
Hammer Price: € 6.820,00
Auction 36 – 25 February 2020 – Modern and Contemporary Art
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