Created in 1976, “Transparencies with the Pearl” belongs to the celebrated period of the “Transparencies” by Gregorio Sciltian, a pictorial cycle developed in the final decades of his activity and considered among the most recognizable moments of his production. Born in Nakhichevan-on-Don in 1900 and active for a long time in Italy, Sciltian in fact built a personal poetics founded on technical virtuosity, illusionistic rendering and a rigorous study of light.
In this work, the artist arranges bottles, glassware and small objects on an essential surface, creating a composition of strong formal balance. However, the true protagonist of the painting is the play of reflections, refractions and transparencies, achieved through extremely controlled painting. The thin glasses and glossy surfaces multiply the light and deform the surrounding space, while the pearl and the shell introduce a delicate material contrast.
Moreover, the construction of the image recalls the tradition of Flemish and seventeenth-century still life, reinterpreted, however, with a modern and almost metaphysical sensibility. The dark background, in fact, isolates the objects and accentuates the optical precision of the surfaces. At the same time, the composition maintains a suspended and silent atmosphere, typical of Sciltian’s mature works.
In the 1970s, the artist was already recognized as one of the major Italian interpreters of twentieth-century illusionistic painting. For this reason, “Transparencies with the Pearl” represents a significant example of his research on visual perception and on the poetic transformation of the everyday object through painting.
Description: Oil on canvas, signed lower left and Roman numerals, H cm 60×40
Notes: On the reverse, authentication inscription ‘Rome 8-12-1989/This painting was painted by G. Sciltian my husband/Elena Sciltian’ and inscription on the stretcher ‘for the exhibition in Ferrara’.
Provenance: Tamassia Collection – Modena; Sciltian House – Rome.
Hammer Price: € 9.300,00
Auction 49 – 24 November 2021 – Modern and Contemporary Art
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