132 - Luigi Serena (1855–1911)

Luigi Serena (1855–1911) The Painter’s Grandmother, 1879 Oil on canvas 95.5 x 72 cm Signature: “L. Serena” on the front Date: “79” on the front Distinguishing features: on the reverse, a Veneto Banca label with inventory references Provenance: Veneto Banca SpA in LCA Bibliography: O. Stefani, ed., “Luigi Serena. 1855–1911,” Ponzano Veneto, 2006, pp. 116 and 123, ill. 87; E. Manzato, “Omaggio a Luigi Serena,” Montebelluna, 2019, pp. 9–10 Exhibitions: “Homage to Luigi Serena (1855–1911),” Villa Romivo, Montebelluna, 2019 Certificates: Photocertificate and critical report by Margherita Binotto dated April 11, 1994 Condition. Support: 70% (re-stretched) Condition. Surface: 90% For direct WhatsApp assistance before and during the live auction: +39 346 12 999 80 // Direct assistance via WhatsApp before and during the auction: +39 346 12 999 80 Luigi Serena, the painter of choice for the Treviso bourgeoisie at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, had no direct students, but he was admired by younger artists for his bohemian and anti-bourgeois spirit—and as a moral compass—becoming a cornerstone of the Marca’s artistic landscape. It was the avant-garde artists, led by Arturo Martini, who organized Serena’s posthumous exhibition shortly after his death in 1911. Although he worked primarily in the province, the artist successfully participated in the most important exhibitions of the time: in Venice (1881), Milan (1883), Turin (1884), Florence (1886), Paris (1888), and Munich (1890). She was among those invited to the 1897 Venice Biennale (Eugenio Manzato, “Treviso,” in *La Pittura in Italia. L’Ottocento*, Milan, 1990, p. 213). The painting is dated 1879, in accordance with the date inscribed on the canvas, by Margaret Binotto in her entry and by Ottorino Stefani in his 2006 monograph. Previously, in his 1985 monograph, the scholar had proposed a date of 1880–1882, a hypothesis taken up by Eugenio Manzato in the recent exhibition in Montebelluna (2019). “Approximately 1880–82, Serena created several portraits using a rather unusual technique that draws, in part, on both the tradition of the Tuscan Macchiaioli and that of the French Impressionists. The color is applied in small strokes, with feathered edges that continuously break up the contours of objects, giving the images a sense of internal vibration and a distinctive luminous and atmospheric movement. In this regard, the “Portrait of Grandmother”—now very elderly—emerges in all her personality as a woman who was once strong and determined, with rather pronounced features, though not without their own composed harmony (the shape of her face must once have been an almost perfect oval). The dark brown tones of the background, slightly enlivened by that touch of ochre and red from the armchair, as well as from the sleeves and hair, highlight the luminosity of the whites, enhanced by the warm transparency of the shadows and the midtones of the face and hands.” (O. Stefani, ed., “Luigi Serena. 1855–1911,” Ponzano Veneto, 2006, pp. 116). A small study of the painting exists in a private collection (ibid., p. 122, ill. 86). Due to its cultural significance, in 2019 the City of Montebelluna requested a permanent loan of the work to display it in its own galleries.