Giuseppe Caselli

Technical Description: "Nocturne in the Gulf of La Spezia" by Giuseppe Caselli The painting depicts a marine scene with a strong dramatic impact, typical of the production of Giuseppe Caselli, a Ligurian painter known for his landscape and marine views. Subject: The composition is dominated by a stormy sea, with impetuous waves crashing forcefully against a rocky cliff on the left. On top of the cliff, a building surrounded by some trees can be distinguished. The sky is dark and cloudy, suggesting a stormy atmosphere or a moment immediately before or after a storm. Composition: The horizon line is relatively low, highlighting the vastness and power of the sea. The cliff on the left acts as a vertical element that balances the horizontal extension of the sea, creating a diagonal that draws the eye towards the center of the scene. The house on the cliff adds a focal point and a narrative element. Colors: The palette is dominated by cold and dark tones, reflecting the stormy and nocturnal atmosphere. The greens and blues of the sea are varied and deep, with lighter and almost fluorescent shades highlighting the crests of the foamy waves. The sky features leaden grays and shades of dark blue, with glimpses of light suggesting the presence of the moon behind the clouds. The cliff is rendered with earthy browns and grays, while the house and vegetation use more muted tones. Technique and Brushstroke: The work is made in oil, a technique that allows Caselli to obtain the richness and depth of colors visible. The brushstroke appears vibrant and dynamic, especially in the rendering of the waves and foam, where the brushstrokes are evident and contribute to conveying the movement and force of the sea. For the cliff and the sky, the brushstroke is more spread out but no less expressive, capturing the texture of the rocks and the density of the clouds. Light: The light is dramatic and comes mainly from above and slightly from the right, illuminating the crests of the waves and creating reflections on the water surfaces. This luminous effect emphasizes the volume and depth of the waves, giving them an almost three-dimensional appearance. The contrast between the illuminated and shaded areas increases the feeling of a storm. Caselli's ability to capture the strength and beauty of the sea in extreme conditions is a distinctive feature of his style. 1940s. The lacquered and gilded wooden frame is coeval. The dimensions of the frame are: 120 x 90, of the canvas 100 x 70. Giuseppe Caselli, born in Luzzara in 1893, went to Florence where he profitably attended the local Academy of Fine Arts. He later moved to La Spezia, beginning his participation in numerous regional and national exhibitions. He became friends with the painters Governato and Aprigliano, attending important art exhibitions with the "Artisti spezzini" group. He exhibited consecutively at the Trade Union Exhibitions organized by the Municipality of Bonassola (1966), at the Figurative Art Review of the Circolo Corsari (La Spezia 1965), at the Exhibition of the Salone Arengario del Broletto (Novara 1967). A portrait painter, he owes his notoriety to the commitment he put into executing beautiful marine views (especially panoramas of the Cinque Terre). Particularly skilled in representing the wave motion, as Bonanni wrote several times in various critical essays, Caselli appears artistically linked to the innovative themes of the twentieth century, without forgetting the most important event in the pictorial field since the beginning of the century: Divisionism, to which he dedicated himself around the 1920s, obtaining superlative results. A certainly limited production, particularly sought after by collectors. A sensitive interpreter of nature, he also produced numerous works that document his dramatic war experiences. An important retrospective exhibition was dedicated to him in La Spezia in 1981 with the contribution, among others, of the Provincial Administration. In 1982, the Cassa di Risparmio di La Spezia dedicated a beautiful calendar to him, containing a significant number of his paintings. His works are kept in public and private collections, even abroad (Tokyo, London, New York, Paris). Thus Renato Righetti remembers Caselli: "My first encounters with Giuseppe Caselli, familiarly called Pino by the friends who were closest to him (and there was a time when I too called him that) took place between the end of 1932 and 1933, at the time when Fillìa often happened in La Spezia, who with the exhibition of futurist sacred art and aeropainting held in November at Salmojraghi's Casa d'Arte and with the announcement of the "Gulf of La Spezia" painting prize, which he would have realized from an idea by Marinetti in the following summer, had given a certain movement back to the Spezia artistic environment which, after the lavish bonfires lit by the Compagnia della Zimarra, had somewhat retreated into itself, also due to the departure of some of its members, P.M. Bardi and Francesco Gamba for Milan, Governato for Genoa, Cafiero Luperini for Rome, where each had moved in search of better fortune. [...] At that time Caselli was in his forties and had perhaps completed the most noteworthy part of his pictorial career, conquering a position of preeminence in the consideration of the cultural elite of that time, made up of professionals, business men and entrepreneurs, fascinated by the splendid legibility of a painting that satisfied the gaze of the most sensitive and suggested to the most astute possibilities of remunerative capitalizations. Apart from Felice Del Santo, still going strong despite his age and whose work continued to enjoy, in wealthy circles, considerable prestige, Caselli was considered the greatest painter of the new generation [...]". After the exhibition "With Caselli's Eyes " created in 2017, in 2022 an anthology on the artist's work was commissioned in La Spezia (Spazio Startè) "22+22 Paintings by Giuseppe Caselli" presenting both works exhibited in the Minotauro gallery exhibition in 1971 and numerous unpublished ones. A regular certificate of authenticity with photo is issued. We ensure a response to your emails within 24 hours. REGISTERED IN THE REGISTER OF EXPERTS AND EXPERTS CHAMBER OF COMMERCE LA SPEZIA UNDER NUMBER SP. 579