Mario Moretti Foggia (1891-1954)

Mario Moretti Foggia (Mantua, 1891 - Pecetto di Macugnaga, 1954)

Mountain landscape with peasant woman

Oil on panel, 38 x 33 cm – Frame 58 x 53 cm

Signed lower right

Mario Moretti Foggia (1891-1954) was a painter from Mantua who was particularly active in the first half of the 20th century. He was known for his landscape views and his ability to render the effects of light and colour with lively, vibrant brushstrokes.

Academically trained, he studied in Verona at the Accademia Cignaroli and then in Milan at the Accademia di Brera; he was a disciple of Mosè Bianchi, Giuseppe Mentessi and Cesare Tallone. His first exhibitions took place at the Braidese Biennial Exhibitions and at the Permanente social exhibitions, where over the years he was able to express his skills as a portraitist and figure painter, as well as his predominant talent for landscape painting. He was the protagonist of numerous solo exhibitions until the early 1950s, mostly in Milan, and participated in four editions of the Venice Biennale from 1920 to 1926. A tireless traveller, he spent long periods in the Near East and Africa, where he made numerous studies of costumes and landscapes. He also exhibited in London, Paris and Brussels, where he was particularly appreciated as an Orientalist painter.

His works are in the Quirinale collection and in public and private galleries in Italy, Switzerland, the United States and Latin America.

The work examined here is an excellent example of the divisionist technique adopted by Moretti Foggia in some of his works. Here, the master has broken down the pictorial surface into small juxtaposed brushstrokes, constructing the image through a luminous texture of touches of colour. The rendering of the stone, vegetation and sky is achieved through a skilful modulation of greens, blues, yellows and ochres, while the figure of the peasant woman, with a bundle of hay in her basket on her shoulders and a red scarf on her head, introduces a narrative and human touch. The painter skilfully plays with perspective, guiding the viewer's gaze along the path to discover architectural and landscape details. The work is striking for its chromatic freshness, harmony of tones and atmospheric rendering, capable of conveying the tranquillity and beauty of the mountain landscape and the alpine village.

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