109 - Lucien Fontanarosa (1912–1975)

Lucien Fontanarosa (1912–1975) Venice—The Gondolier, September 1973 Gouache, pencil, and red chalk Dedicated, signed, and dated by hand at the bottom margin: “ To Yves Guérin, with warm regards, September 1973,” signed “Fontanarosa” Dimensions: Sheet 29.7 × 21 cm (11 ⅝ × 8 ¼ in.) — Image: full sheet Condition: good condition, unframed Provenance: Yves Guérin’s guestbook, compiled between 1963 and 1992 (from a single collection). Description: A vibrant gouache of a Venetian gondolier—a tall figure in a striped swimsuit, standing at his oar in the foreground, a second gondola and its rower to the right, and the domes of Venice (la Salute) fading into a warm ochre light in the background, all built upon a vivid preparatory drawing in pencil and red chalk. Lucien Fontanarosa was a French painter and illustrator of Italian origin, a student of Lucien Simon, winner of the First Grand Prix de Rome (1936), and a member of the Institut (1955); Venice—and the gondolier above all—were among his most cherished subjects; he made “The Gondolier” the cover of the 1971 catalog *Peintres Témoins de leur Temps*. An illustrator for Mac Orlan, Giono, and Daudet, he also designed the 500-franc “Pascal” banknote and exhibited alongside the sculptor Volti (also featured in this album). Signed, dated, and inscribed by hand.