Giovanni Battista Costa

Large oil painting on canvas, by Giovanni Battista Costa, "The Blue Lake," Early 20th century. Beautiful and large painting by Ligurian artist Giovanni Battista Costa, depicting the famous Blue Lake in the vicinity of Cervinia, with the majestic Mount Cervino in the background. Giovanni Battista Costa was born in Rapallo in 1858 to a wealthy family and devoted his entire life to art. He participated, from 1879, in exhibitions of the Society Promotrice di Belle Arti in Genoa and in numerous other important Italian exhibitions, exhibiting over 100 paintings until 1921, mainly landscapes, seascapes and portraits. In 1895 he was appointed Academic of Merit of the Ligustica, where he also taught. He began his artistic studies at the Accademia Ligustica (and partly in Rome), moving quickly from painting linked to tradition to works based on direct observation, probably under the guidance of Tammar Luxoro, Director of the new Landscape School from 1874. Consequently, close ties emerged with the Genoese Grey School, the Rivara School (in Piedmont) and the Tuscan Macchiaiolo movement. The analysis of some of his works leads us to associate Costa with some 19th-century Lombard painters. His works appeared retrospectively in Genoa at the exhibition of Ligurian Painters of the Nineteenth Century (Palazzo Rosso, 1938) and at the Commemorative Exhibition at the Galleria San Matteo, 1952. In his later years, he focused his interest on depicting mountain landscapes. Measurements: Framed 125 x W 200 x D 6 cm / Canvas H 106 x W 176 cm