G. Gonzaga Oil on Canvas Italy 1962 - Don Quixote of La Mancha 1962

Features

Artist:  Giovan Francesco Gonzaga (1921-2007)

Artwork title:  Don Chisciotte della Mancia

Age:  20th Century / 1901 - 2000

Subject:  Human Figures

Artistic technique:  Painting

Technical specification:  Oil on Canvas

Description : Don Chisciotte della Mancia

Oil painting on canvas. Signed lower left. On the back there is a further signature with the date and title of the work. Also present is a cartouche of the Gussoni Gallery in Milan, relating to a personal exhibition dedicated to the author, bearing in addition to the data of the work, the catalog number 41 and the name of the owner collector. A Milanese artist descended from a cadet branch of the Gonzaga nobles of Mantua, Giovan Francesco took part in the Second World War with the Savoy Cavalry when he was still twenty years old, participating with the “Fantasma” squadron in patrol actions in the Russian steppe. The months spent in close contact with the horse during the war sparked in him a real passion for horses, which became the privileged subject of numerous paintings, sculptures and poems. Self-taught artist, he declared "Nature is my true teacher", and faithful to it, after horses, he devoted himself mainly to landscapes and still lifes, always depicted "en plein air". Vittorio Sgarbi wrote about him: "The wisdom of Giovan Francesco Gonzaga lies in the design, which is strong and decisive ..... The images vibrate with restlessness, in the sign of man's struggle against himself, in the hell of a a story that always seems to repeat the same drama. But if the preparatory drawing is admirable, the color of this artist has a regality and a sensitivity that come from a musical perception of the color, where the palette is expressed in sudden, variations and rhythms buttons ". His works appear in various museums, including that of the Pinerolo Cavalry, the Historical Museum of the Guardia di Finanza in Rome, the Tel Aviv Museum, the Art Museum of Los Angeles, in public and private collections in Italy, France, Spain, Luxembourg, Indonesia, China, Japan, Singapore and America. Among the various figures on horseback represented by the artist, to denote his passion for this animal, particular is this Don Quixote of La Mancha, accompanied by the faithful Sancho who rides his donkey: the frontal shot creates an effect of impetus with the slim but erect figure of Don Quixote that stands out in the sky, of which he wears the same colors, holding the lance also blue; the mounts and Sancho, on the other hand, in brown tones, lead back to the earth, to materiality. The work is presented in a frame.

Product Condition:
Product in very good condition which may show slight traces of wear; it may have undergone restoration work carried out by an expert.

Frame Size (cm):
Height: 116
Width: 66
Depth: 5

Artwork dimensions (cm):
Height: 102
Width: 52