Ernesto Fontana (1837- 1918)

Ernesto Fontana, "While Two Argue, the Third Rejoices", 1893, oil on canvas depicting three cheerfully playing children rolling among pink flowers, signed by the Milanese artist E. Fontana, Milan 1837 – Cureglia, Switzerland 1918, on the upper right, while on the lower left edge it is signed again, dated with a dedication to his friend Prof. Lorenzani??. The work is in excellent condition within a carved and gilded wood frame in fine gold. On the lower edge of the frame, a brass plate with the author's name and the title of the work engraved. The canvas alone measures cm. 30 x 24, and comes from a private Milanese collection. On the back of the frame is an inscription with the title, author and dedication to his friend. Ernesto Fontana (1837- 1918) Trained at the Brera Academy, Fontana attended the courses of Giuseppe Sogni, Francesco Hayez and Giuseppe Bertini, together with protagonists of Lombard painting of the second half of the nineteenth century such as Tranquillo Cremona, Daniele Ranzoni, Filippo Carcano and Mosè Bianchi, with whom he also shared a studio. Initially, he dedicated himself to the themes of historical romanticism. He began his career painting historical paintings: The Meeting between Elizabeth and Mary Stuart was awarded the gold medal at the National Painting Exhibition in Milan and later purchased by the British Museum in London. He also won a gold medal at the Ferrara Exhibition in 1875. However, Fontana felt more at ease in genre painting, close in taste, and also linked by friendship, to the Induno brothers, true initiators of anecdotal painting. He also dedicated himself to the fresco decoration of churches and Lombard patrician palaces. In particular, we remember a theory of nudes that decorated the bathroom of a wealthy and well-known Milanese (Marangoni, 1924) and, above all, the frescoes of some rooms of Villa Olmo in Como, owned by the Visconti di Modrone dukes. Fontana then takes up the sentimentalist attitudes from the Scapigliatura movement, which he translates into the subjects of his paintings in a light and easily popularized tone: endowed with a certain technical skill, he also dedicates himself to painting graceful and mischievous female figures. Period: 1800 Height: 46.5 cm Width: 40 cm Depth: 4cm