Painting by Tranquillo Cremona

Watercolor on paper. Artist's monogram at the top left. Tranquillo Cremona, after an initial period close to Romantic painting, moved away from the influences of Francesco Hayez from 1870 onwards and adopted a painting style with undefined contours, developing the concept of "scapigliata smudge" together with his friend Daniele Ranzoni: after an initial intervention with brushes, he finished the works with his fingers to blur, using all his fingers to give maximum vaporosity to his paintings. This technique (which cost him his life due to lead poisoning from repeated contact of the paints on the skin) was compared by Camillo Boito to the views of the magic lantern, when the lens has not yet found the right focus: the image is already distinguished, but it is immersed in an almost aeriform vapor. The subjects of Tranquillo Cremona's works were always human figures, present in the historical-literary scenes of the Romantic period, as in the portraits and genre scenes of the scapigliata phase; his subjects were taken from daily life, in its simplicity and spontaneous immediacy, like this female figure intent on her toilette. The work is presented in a late 19th-century frame. Product condition: Product in good condition, with small signs of wear. We try to present the real state as completely as possible with the photos. If some details are not clear from the photos, what is reported in the description is valid. Frame dimensions (cm): Height: 33 Width: 27 Depth: 3 Artwork dimensions (cm): Height: 25 Width: 19 ARAROT0281416