205 - Domenico Morelli,

Domenico Morelli, Italian 1823-1901- A busy street scene; brown ink on paper, signed 'D. Morelli' (lower right, in pencil) and inscribed 'sig. Bacc[...]ani / 19 x 22 1/2 204.573 123 / [...]F02 / 1800' (to the verso), 12.1 x 15.7 cm. Provenance: Private Collection, Italy, thence by descent. Private Collection, UK. Note: Born and raised in Naples, Domenico Morelli studied at the city's Academy of Fine Arts before moving to Rome, where he would take part in the 1848 revolts. Shortly after he visited Florence and Paris, where he exhibited at the Exposition Universelle in 1855. In the following decades he would spend time in both cities, participating in and influenced both the Florentine and Parisian artistic scene. Towards the end of his life he was a Senator of the Kingdom of Italy and the director of his alma mater, the Accademia di Belle Arti di Napoli. He is considered to be one of the most important Neapolitan painters of the 19th century. The present work exhibits Morelli's characteristic technique as a draughtsman, recalling a sketch which sold at Galleria Pananti Casa d'Aste, Florence, on 25 October 2008, lot 502 (€1,400 hammer).